Andres Alejandro Ramos swam across the Rio Grande in 2023 to escape agents chasing his truck near Rio Grande City. He was arrested three years later in McAllen.
Ramos is 32 years old. He now faces a federal charge. He is accused of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. That means agents say he planned to sell or hand off the drugs, not just carry them for himself. Agents say the truck he was driving held 121 pounds of cocaine.
The case matters for South Texas. It shows how much drug traffic still moves through Starr County along the river. It also shows that old evidence, like fingerprints, can still lead to an arrest years after a chase ends.
The chase began on August 7, 2023. It was around 5:02 p.m. Agents were working a narcotics operation near Midway Road in Rio Grande City. They included the Rio Grande Valley Mobile Response Team and a Special Operations Detachment. Other teams were Texas DPS Rangers, DPS SWAT, and Texas Game Wardens.
The agents were watching the riverbank for smuggling activity. They saw people who looked like scouts near the water. Scouts often watch for police and signal when it is safe to cross.
Agents then spotted a white 2001 Ford Ranger truck near the river. A raft had just crossed into the United States. It carried several people. The truck sped away fast. It headed north, away from the river road.
Agents believed the truck was loaded with drugs. They moved to stop it. They used tire deflation devices. These are strips that flatten a truck's tires so it cannot keep driving fast.
When agents got close, the driver turned the truck around. He headed back toward the river instead of stopping. He was trying to get away.
A Border Patrol agent tried to cut him off along the river road. The driver did not stop for him either. He left the truck near the riverbank and ran.
The driver jumped into the Rio Grande. He swam across to the Mexican side. A raft was waiting there. It picked him up and carried him away.
Agents searched the truck he left behind. Inside, they found two feed bags. The bags held about 50 bundles of cocaine. In total, the drugs weighed 121 pounds.
Agents took the truck and the drugs to the Rio Grande City Border Patrol station. Workers there processed the evidence for the case.
Investigators said the driver looked familiar. They said they had encountered the same man before, on July 17, 2023. That was just weeks before the river chase.
A fingerprint specialist later worked on the case. The specialist received nine latent fingerprint images. Latent fingerprints are prints that are not easy to see without special tools. The images came from the RGV Evidence Collection Team in Edinburg. The prints helped match Ramos to the truck.
That match pointed to Ramos as the driver. But he was not caught right away. He stayed free for years while the case moved forward.
Agents finally arrested Ramos this past Monday. The arrest happened in McAllen.
Ramos made his first court appearance that same day. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Juan F. Alanis.
Ramos is set to return to court next Tuesday afternoon. He will have a preliminary examination and a detention hearing. A preliminary examination checks whether there is enough evidence to move the case forward. A detention hearing decides whether a defendant stays in jail while the case continues.
The 2023 chase happened years ago, but the case is only now moving through federal court. It stands as one example of the drug smuggling agents still fight along the Rio Grande in Starr County.
