A monthlong police sweep caught 270 wanted people across the Coastal Bend. It happened in July 2026. Officers cleared 472 warrants during the push. They also pulled guns, cash, and drugs off South Texas streets.
The U.S. Marshals Service led the operation. It was called Operation Washout. Officers also call it Coastal Blitz. It ran all through the month of July. Eighteen law enforcement agencies worked the case together. That list includes the FBI, DEA, ATF, and Texas DPS. Local police from Corpus Christi and Kingsville also joined. So did the Kleberg County Sheriff's Office.
The sweep matters because it pulled violent fugitives off the street fast. Many people arrested had warrants open for months or years. Small police departments often lack the staff to chase every fugitive alone. Joining forces with federal agents let them close old cases quickly.
In Kleberg County, deputies and Kingsville police helped make 53 arrests. The Kleberg County Attorney's Office assigned a prosecutor to the task force. That prosecutor worked only on this operation. Local officers worked side by side with federal agents all month. They shared tips and ran down leads together.
Across the wider region, officers took $464,685 in cash off the street. That kind of money is often tied to drug sales. Officers also seized 93 guns. They found about 8.2 kilograms of illegal drugs. Investigators say they identified 36 gang members during the sweep. Agencies covered ground from Bee County down through Brooks County. They hit small towns and bigger cities like Corpus Christi.
One arrest stood out from the rest. Jose De La Salas was caught on a warrant from 2021. He faces charges of aggravated continuous sexual abuse of a child. He also faces a charge of sexual assault of a child. Prosecutors formally picked up his case in October 2023. Task force officers called his arrest one of the biggest wins of the operation.
The sweep is part of a bigger, ongoing effort. The U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force runs it. That task force works year round out of Corpus Christi. It teams up with local police across South Texas. Together they hunt fugitives who slip through the cracks. Agents from a Houston strike team joined the July push too. They brought extra manpower to smaller counties that needed it most.
Local leaders say sweeps like this help small counties fight crime. Kleberg County is a small county. It does not have a large police force. It does not have a big budget either. Teaming up with federal agents let it clear dozens of old warrants fast. Some of those cases might have sat untouched for years.
The operation officially closed out at the end of July. Officers booked all 270 people into jails across the region. Some face state charges. Others face federal charges. It depends on the type of warrant they had. Court cases for those arrested are now moving through the system. That includes the case against De La Salas.
There is no word yet on another sweep like this one. Task force leaders say they will keep working fugitive cases. They plan to work across the Coastal Bend on an ongoing basis. Anyone with a tip on a wanted person can call their local sheriff. They can also call Crime Stoppers to report it.
For families in Kleberg County, the numbers offer some relief. A gun off the street is one less gun pointed at a neighbor. Cash seized from crime cannot fund the next deal. A person like De La Salas is now behind bars. He was wanted for years on a warrant tied to a child. Now he is not walking free in the community.
El Tejano will keep following the court cases from this sweep. That includes any update on the charges against De La Salas. It also includes updates on the other 269 people arrested.
