A Chapeno man is facing a federal smuggling charge. Border Patrol agents caught him with two migrants near the Rio Grande. He says a gunman forced him to give them a ride. But the two migrants tell a different story.
Ever Tadeo Martinez is a U.S. citizen. He was born in 1986. Agents stopped his car on July 24. Now he faces a federal charge. It can carry serious prison time if he is found guilty.
This case matters for a simple reason. It shows how Border Patrol watches the river. Agents in Starr County use camera balloons along the Rio Grande. The balloons help agents catch smuggling runs while they happen. Records call this a 1 on 2 case. That means one driver and two migrants. The case also raises a hard question. Was Martinez a victim? Or was he what agents call a load driver, the person who drives migrants away right after they cross?
Agents were watching a camera balloon above Chapeno. It is called an Aerostat. Around 8 p.m. on July 24, the camera operator saw about four people cross the Rio Grande from Mexico, court records show. The operator told agents a white Chevrolet was driving south on Chapeno Road. The car turned onto Swordfish Drive. It made a three point turn. Then it stopped behind some trees. That spot was near where the group had crossed.
Moments later, the Chevrolet started driving north again. It pulled to the side of the road. Several people jumped out and ran into the brush. Agents stopped the car. They found Martinez behind the wheel. They searched the brush and found two people hiding there.
Both told agents they were in the country illegally. Agents took everyone to the Border Patrol station in Rio Grande City.
Agents read Martinez his rights. He agreed to talk. He said he had driven to a cemetery in Chapeno. He said he saw people on the road. One of them pointed a gun at him, he said. That person told him to give them a ride. Martinez said he drove for about four minutes. Then he slowed down so the group could jump out. He told agents it never crossed his mind to mention the gun. Not until after he was already caught.
The two migrants agents found in the brush told a different story. Celso Bautista Zuniga is a Mexican citizen. He said a small gray or white four door car pulled up. The driver waved for the group to get in, he said. The driver stopped a short time later. He told everyone to get off. Zuniga said nobody in the group saw a weapon.
Reynaldo Osorto Castillo is from Honduras. He said a guide had told the group a white car would pick them up. He said the ride lasted about four minutes. Then the driver told everyone to get out and run. Agents showed Castillo a photo lineup. He picked out Martinez as the driver. Like Zuniga, Castillo said he never saw a gun.
Martinez is charged under a federal law. It makes it a crime to knowingly move migrants who are in the country illegally. His case is in federal court in McAllen. A magistrate judge signed off on the charge against him on July 25.
The case is still moving through federal court. A judge or jury will have to sort out who is telling the truth. On one side is a driver who says he was forced at gunpoint. On the other side are two migrants who say there was no gun at all.