Three soldiers were detained in a Texas base and formally charged with smuggling undocumented immigrants across the border, the West Texas District Attorney's Office said.
Authorities explained that the three soldiers, stationed at Fort Cavazos, were detained in a vehicle in Presidio County on November 27. The car tried to flee the scene but hit a Customs and Border Protection vehicle, injuring an agent who was inside.
"Presidio County agents and police officers finally stopped the vehicle and detained four individuals, three of whom were undocumented foreigners, one Mexican and two Guatemalan," the DA's office said in a statement. Two others in the vehicle were later identified as U.S. Army soldiers. One of them, Angel Palma, managed to escape on foot but was tracked down the next day in a hotel in Odessa, while Emilio Mendoza López was on the passenger's seat.
A third individual, Enrique Jauregui, allegedly worked as a recruiter and facilitator of the conspiracy to smuggle the individuals. "Data extracted from Palma's phone through a warrant revealed messages between the three military members indicating collaboration in the operation," authorities said.
López has already appeared before a court in Alpine, Texas, on December 2 and was charged with "one count of bringing in and harboring aliens."
Palma and Jauregui are scheduled to appear before another court in Waco on Friday. They have been charged with "one count of bringing in and harboring aliens and one count of assaulting a federal agent."
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