Eagle Pass Man Sentenced to Over 17 Years for Role in Alien Smuggling Conspiracy

DEL RIO, Texas - An Eagle Pass man was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 212 months in prison for conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy.

According to court documents, Juan Antonio Flores, 36, coordinated smuggling trips for an alien smuggling organization (ASO), making $4,000 per alien smuggled from Mexico to San Antonio. The aliens were often transported to Austin, where co-conspirator Pedro Ruiz Gonzalez would receive them. Flores and Gonzalez worked together on 15-20 illegal alien smuggling events. Another co-conspirator, Armando Garcia-Martinez aka "Leche," had been a driver for Flores and Gonzalez, undertaking an average of two to three smuggling trips per week.

As part of one smuggling event, the ASO took a family of illegal aliens hostage and continuously demanded payments from their relatives in the form of electronic wire transfers. The family consisted of a man, a pregnant woman, and their seven-year-old child. On July 9, 2023, a relative paid at least $1,000 to the ASO due to the threats made toward the family. Still, the ASO continued to demand payment to different accounts as a condition for the release of the aliens.

Flores was named in a six-count indictment on April 24, 2024, and arrested on June 12, 2024. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 7, 2024.

Co-defendants Edwin Alredo Barrientos-Mateo aka "Waches" and Nelson Abilio Castro-Zelaya were sentenced to 360 months and 180 months, respectively. All other co-defendants have pleaded guilty and are pending sentencing. Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses presides over the case.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Border Patrol, and the Texas Department of Public Safety investigated the case with assistance from the Eagle Pass Police Department, Austin Police Department, Houston Police Department and the Comal County Sheriff's Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner prosecuted 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 (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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