A US Customs and Border Protection officer accused of smuggling illegal aliens across the Texas border was allegedly moonlighting as a member of the La Linea drug cartel.
Former CBP Officer Manuel Perez Jr., 32, is from California. A federal agent testified that he is part of La Linea, also known as the Juárez drug cartel.
According to the El Paso Times, Perez was fired from CBP after he was arrested on federal human and drug smuggling charges on Feb. 8 by the FBI El Paso West Texas Border Corruption Task Force. This investigation found that he had ties to the Mexican drug cartel. If convicted, he could face 10 years up to life in prison.
“Multiple witnesses said he belonged to La Linea cartel in Mexico,” a special agent with the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility testified at the hearing, the Times reported.
The agent explained that in intercepted phone calls, human smugglers spoke of “100 percent guaranteed” crossings because they had “the officer in their pocket.”
Texas CBP officer arrested for human smuggling was allegedly moonlighting as member of Mexican drug cartel https://t.co/NvxjYO9dIy pic.twitter.com/Rw2C3U68xy
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Reportedly, Perez told investigators that he was paid $2,500 for each illegal alien he allowed to clear through his inspection lane at the Paso Del Norte international bridge in El Paso.
According to the investigation, an illegal alien paid $16,000 to be brought across the border to the United States. And, Perez allowed a gray Nissan Pathfinder to cross the border with undocumented migrants several times. He allegedly entered information from 25 visas belonging to legal border-crossers in the place of the illegal aliens who were smuggled. The Nissan Pathfinder would take smuggled illegal aliens, including children, to a meet-up spot where they were transported to other cities.
The prosecution reportedly claimed that Perez may have been paid as much as $400,000 in a border human smuggling scheme dating back to December 2023. A separate cocaine distribution conspiracy case dates from Feb. 5 back to November 2019, his indictment reportedly states.
Perez’s attorney, Ruben Ortiz, reportedly said that the co-conspirators involved in the smuggling could be lying.
"The cooperating witnesses are telling them (federal investigators) whatever they want to hear for now," Ortiz reportedly said, adding that they are "pointing fingers, perhaps to gain favor from the government in their own cases."
Perez is a U.S. citizen with no criminal history, his attorney said. He has an apartment in El Paso and rents a home in Juárez, as well (via the El Paso Times):
The special agent with the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility testified that witnesses told investigators that Perez was always armed with a firearm in bars and nightclubs in Mexico and even when he was sleeping.
Witnesses claimed Perez had an armed security detail with him at all times in Mexico. The claim was corroborated by photos, the agent said.
A witness told investigators that Perez had stated that if he were ever to be arrested that he would prefer to be arrested in Mexico so that he could continue his criminal activity in jail, the special agent said.
As part of the investigation, U.S. federal agents contacted Mexican agents, who served a search warrant at Perez’s home in Juárez. They found $18,000 in cash at his home there.
"By all measures, he lives in Mexico," Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Johnston said of Perez, mentioning that the rest of the former officer's smuggling profits are unaccounted for.