Human Smuggler Arrested in South Texas for Abandoning Sick Migrants

Authorities in South Texas have detained a human smuggler who is accused of abandoning sick migrants after dragging them from concealed residences and leaving them on rural roads, with the grim expectation that they would perish.

This incident took place on Saturday near the border town of Rome, Texas. It began when deputies from the Starr County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report about a body found on the side of a rural road. Upon arrival, they discovered the individual was a Mexican immigrant who, while in poor health, was still alive and left without care. He was promptly rescued and taken to a nearby hospital, where authorities later identified him and informed his family in Mexico.

As detailed in a criminal complaint by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), around the same time deputies were investigating the dumped body, HSI officers received a call about a group of men dragging a body from a residence and loading it into a vehicle at an apartment complex.

Investigators visited the location to speak with an individual identified as an illegal immigrant from Mexico. He disclosed that he had been smuggled into Rome along with three other men and was sheltered by a person named Elias Vazquez. The immigrant explained that another individual—also an immigrant—was unwell, and Vazquez was attempting to manage the situation. According to him, a doctor had visited and administered IV treatment, but eventually Vazquez forced the other migrants to remove the sick man. The immigrant mentioned he was even instructed to clean up the house and deal with the blood of ill migrants.

Following the investigation, HSI officers located and arrested Vazquez in McAllen. He has since been charged by a U.S. magistrate judge for harboring an illegal alien and is being held without bail. It’s yet to be determined if further charges are forthcoming.

Despite efforts by the Trump administration to clamp down on illegal border crossings, reports indicate that illegal immigrants continue to enter the country as “fugitives,” according to Breitbart’s Bob Price. Consequently, many find themselves entangled with smugglers associated with cartels, facing perilous and often life-threatening circumstances during their transport.