A former U.S. Army soldier, Enrique Jauregui, 26, has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for aiding and abetting the transportation of illegal aliens for financial gain. The sentencing took place in a federal court in Pecos.
According to court documents, Jauregui orchestrated a smuggling event in 2024, recruiting fellow soldiers Angel Palma, 21, and Emilio Mendoza Lopez, 22. Jauregui provided them with pickup locations for the illegal aliens, offered encouraging messages and instructions, and intended to pay the two co-conspirators after the drop-off.
On November 27, 2024, Palma and Mendoza Lopez drove from Fort Hood (now Fort Cavazos) to Presidio, picked up three illegal aliens, and then led U.S. Border Patrol agents on a high-speed chase. During the pursuit, the defendants struck a marked USBP vehicle, injuring an agent. Palma, Mendoza Lopez, and the three illegal aliens fled on foot. All were apprehended except for Palma, who was later located and arrested at a hotel in Odessa.
All three co-defendants pleaded guilty earlier in 2025. Palma and Mendoza Lopez were each sentenced in May to 24 months in federal prison. In addition to their imprisonment, all three were sentenced to three years of supervised release, and Jauregui was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. U.S. District Judge David Counts presided over the hearings.
“These three individuals turned their backs on their values in a way that put our nation at risk, and put at risk the lives of others, including the lives of law enforcement officers,” said U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons for the Western District of Texas.
Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens for Homeland Security Investigations El Paso emphasized, "Recruiting fellow soldiers to participate in illegal activities, culminating in a reckless high-speed chase with law enforcement, is a blatant betrayal of duty and public trust."
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID), Central Texas Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Cayton prosecuted the case.
