Four individuals have been charged in connection with an alleged alien smuggling operation in Hidalgo County, according to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. The defendants include Enrique Gonzalez, 57, of Weslaco; Erick Vallejo-Zapata, 21, a Mexican national; Rigoberto Esteban Perez-Cruz, 37, of Edinburg; and Mirza Garcia-Zapata, 37, also a Mexican national.
Gonzalez and Vallejo-Zapata are scheduled for their initial court appearances on August 22 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Juan F. Alanis. Perez-Cruz and Garcia-Zapata have already appeared in court and remain in custody pending detention hearings set for August 26.
The charges allege that all four harbored illegal aliens at residences throughout Hidalgo County. Additionally, Gonzalez, Vallejo-Zapata and Garcia-Zapata are accused of transporting the aliens.
Authorities say that on August 20, Perez-Cruz was stopped for a traffic violation after leaving a residence in Edinburg. During the stop, law enforcement allegedly found an illegal alien in the passenger seat. Following this incident, search warrants were executed at two residences—one in Edinburg and another in Donna—where officials reportedly discovered an additional 24 illegal aliens. Among them were two unaccompanied minors.
According to the complaint, Garcia-Zapata and Perez-Cruz acted as caretakers of these stash houses. The documents further state that the illegal aliens had previously been held at Gonzalez’s house where Vallejo-Zapata photographed them and Gonzalez allegedly took their phones before they were transported to various stash houses across the county.
The people found at these locations are from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador and India.
As part of the investigation into this case—which involved Border Patrol agents—nine of the discovered aliens have been charged with felony illegal reentry after removal; if convicted they could face up to ten years in federal prison. Ten others face charges of illegal entry into the United States.
If convicted on all counts related to smuggling or harboring charges, Gonzalez, Vallejo-Zapata, Garcia-Zapata and Perez-Cruz each face up to ten years in federal prison along with possible fines reaching $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Devin V. Walker is prosecuting the case.
"This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime," according to a statement included with details about the prosecution's efforts against organized crime through programs such as Project Safe Neighborhoods and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces.
Officials emphasized that "A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law."
