According to official records obtained by El Tejano, the following details come from a press release and criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas.

🚨 At 3:35 in the morning, a box truck pulled into a Border Patrol checkpoint near Sarita. The driver said he was hauling fruit. He was not.

Juan Manuel Sifontes-Sinales, 29, is from Cuba. He came to the U.S. in September 2022. He was supposed to leave by December 7, 2022. He stayed illegally.

On October 17, 2025, Sifontes-Sinales drove a white 2012 Freightliner box truck to the Javier Vega Jr. Border Patrol Checkpoint on Highway 77 south of Sarita. A scan of the truck showed something wrong in the cargo area.

🔎 Agents ripped into the cargo hold. They found a false wall. It was built from wood and plywood, covered with fiberglass panels and aluminum flashing, all screwed shut.

Behind it was a hidden space. About 8 feet tall, 8 feet long, and 3.5 feet wide. Inside stood 19 people packed in rows. No food. No water. No way to sit. They were from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Brazil.

Each person had paid between $12,000 and $20,000 to get to Houston. Half was paid up front. The rest was due on arrival.

📱 Agents found a blue cell phone inside the wall. A WhatsApp contact had been sending messages. "Be quiet." "Stay still." "Almost there." Sifontes-Sinales told agents nothing. He invoked his right to stay silent.

But his phone gave him away. It showed he talked to the smugglers. He had the number of the man watching the stash house. Records showed the truck crossed that same checkpoint six times. Each time the same scout vehicle followed. The whole operation moved more than 25 people.

Witnesses said armed men at the stash house forced migrants to stay in their underwear. They took their phones.

⚖️ Sifontes-Sinales pleaded guilty on February 12. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos sentenced him to 18 months in federal prison. The judge said he showed reckless disregard for human life. She also noted the number of people he transported. After he gets out, he faces deportation.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America. HSI and Border Patrol ran the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Young Min Burkett prosecuted the case. Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck announced the sentence.

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