The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas reported Friday that 225 border security cases were filed between March 28 and April 3.
According to the agency, 70 people were charged with illegal reentry, with the majority having past felony convictions for drug trafficking, violent felonies, and immigration violations.
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The office reported that 144 others were charged with illegal entry, with the remaining instances involving human smuggling, gun trafficking, and assault on federal authorities.
Vicente Garcia Jr. and Jose Alexis Baeza-Combaluzier face serious charges, including alien smuggling that resulted in two fatalities, according to the office.
Baeza-Combaluzier drove into a canal while escaping law enforcement, drowning two migrants, including a 14-year-old child, according to the agency.
If found guilty, both defendants could face life in prison or the death penalty, according to the office.
The office reports that two Salvadoran nationals identified as potential MS-13 gang members are among the four illegal reentry suspects.
The office noted the dismissal of Edwin Geovanny Parada-Granados and Misael Antonio Mendez-Mendez within the last year.
Another defendant, Nicolas Alberto Hernandez-Lopez, who had previously been convicted of second-degree sexual assault, was discovered near Escobares following a 2023 removal, the office reported.
Cesar Humberto Leal-Garcia, who is also facing unlawful reentry charges, is accused of assaulting two Border Patrol officials and has four prior reentry convictions, according to the office.
The office said that Pedro Cardiel Rodriguez had been charged with importing a firearm and 1,852 rounds of ammunition into Mexico.
The office charged Cristina Amezcua Valencia with using another person’s identity to obtain a US passport and re-enter the country.
The bureau also announced convictions in two separate smuggling cases involving migrant deaths.
