An out-of-state truck driver is facing federal charges for a failed human smuggling effort involving 42 migrants who were discovered stranded inside a sweltering, locked tractor-trailer at a South Texas Border Patrol checkpoint, federal authorities announced Monday.
Juan Nasario-Reyes, 43, of Beaver, Oklahoma, was charged with importing a large number of undocumented migrants and possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, according to Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck for the Southern District of Texas. Nasario-Reyes was expected to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jason B. Libby in Corpus Christi on Tuesday morning.
The incident began on Saturday, May 16, when Nasario-Reyes drove a white Volvo tractor-trailer into the Border Patrol checkpoint near Sarita. According to the criminal complaint, federal officers saw Nasario-Reyes’ uneasy conduct. Despite his claims that the commercial truck was empty and he was driving alone, a service K-9 alerted authorities to the tractor’s sleeping berth and the front half of the trailer.
During a second inspection, law enforcement agents discovered four migrants hidden inside the cab area and another 38 people packed into the trailer.
Federal prosecutors claimed the trailer had been locked shut from the outside, leaving the inmates with no way out. Inside the trailer, authorities discovered water bottles, trash, a pillow, and a urinating bucket. The temperature inside the enclosed trailer was reported at approximately 92.5 degrees.
The rescued migrants are from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Cuba, and Brazil, according to federal charges.
During the search of the truck’s cab, detectives discovered approximately 16 grams of methamphetamine, a glass pipe, and a glass funnel concealed inside a headphone box, according to the complaint.
If convicted of human smuggling charges, Nasario-Reyes faces up to five years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. The drug distribution charge carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in jail.
Federal authorities stated that 13 of the migrants discovered in the truck had been charged with immigration violations, including illegal entry or reentry. The remaining individuals are expected to face an immediate removal action.
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