South Texas man pleads guilty to smuggling 36 aliens in tractor trailer following investigation by ICE, US Border Patrol

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A South Texas man pleaded guilty Feb. 13 to smuggling 36 undocumented aliens in the back of a tractor trailer following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol.

Eusebio Cavazos, a 33-year-old resident of Alamo, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to transporting aliens into or within the U.S. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 15 and faces up to five years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 possible fine.

“The days of transnational criminal organizations raking in billions in illicit profits each year by trampling on our nation’s sovereignty and flooding our country with millions of unvetted aliens who could present a threat to public safety or national security are over,” said ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations Houston Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz. “The law enforcement community in Southeast Texas is united in our effort to restore law and order along the southern border by aggressively pursuing and dismantling human smuggling organizations and other criminal organizations who are bold enough to test our collective resolve.”

During the hearing it was revealed that Cavazos drove a tractor-trailer into the primary inspection lane at the Border Patrol checkpoint near Sarita Dec. 13, 2024. Upon initial inspection, a K-9 alerted to the possible presence of humans in the trailer. Authorities referred him to secondary inspection where they discovered 36 undocumented aliens in the back of the trailer and nothing else.

A total of 36 aliens were discovered in the trailer including 15 from Guatemala, 10 from Honduras, eight from Mexico and three from El Salvador. All 36 had illegally entered the U.S. and five have pending charges for allegedly illegally re-entering the U.S. after previously being removed.

During an investigation by ICE HSI Corpus Christi, Cavazos admitted that someone had hired him to drive all 36 illegal aliens from a point near Donna to Houston and promised to pay him $1,000 per alien that he smuggled.

Cavazos will remain in custody pending his sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Griffith is prosecuting the case.

For more news and information on how ICE HSI combats human trafficking and human smuggling in Southeast Texas follow us on X at @HSIHouston.