El Paso is a major crossing being used as part of a "disturbing trend" of drug cartels using people to smuggle stolen vehicles from the U.S. into Mexico to use in their illegal operations, authorities said.
"Earlier this year, federal prosecutors and agents with the Homeland Security Task Force noticed a disturbing trend: stolen vehicles owned by private individuals and rental car companies were being brought from across the country to El Paso, and being crossed into Mexico," U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Justin R. Simmons said.
Simmons, HSI El Paso Deputy Special Agent in Charge Vance Belyeu and FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Coult W. Markovsky, along with other federal, state and local law enforcement, announced their
"Operation Southbound Takedown" results during a Monday, Oct. 26, news conference at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Downtown El Paso.
Operation Southbound Takedown was launched in spring after seeing a trend of stolen vehicles being taken into Juárez and being used by drug cartels, the federal law enforcement leaders said. The vehicles included stolen privately owned and rental vehicles.
"The investigation revealed that cars were being stolen from across the country, and El Paso was the major crossing point for these stolen vehicles," Simmons said. "Cartels that were ultimately using these vehicles were recruiting U.S. citizens and those otherwise able to legally cross from the United States into Mexico and vice versa."
The operation has resulted in at least 13 people being indicted and arrested on federal charges in connection with the stolen vehicle smuggling activities. The charges include conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property and interstate transportation of stolen property and aiding and abetting, federal court records show.
Eleven of the defendants are U.S. citizens and two are Mexican nationals, Simmons said.
The investigation, which spanned the U.S. and Mexico, recovered 29 vehicles valued at more than $1.1 million. The vehicles were stolen from several cities across the U.S., including El Paso and Chicago, and from states spanning from Florida to California. The vehicles crossed El Paso ports of entry into Juárez.
"What we face today is becoming more complex, more violent and more interconnected than ever before," Markovsky said. "Auto theft is not just a statistic; it is personal. It harms individuals, burdens families, and costs businesses. The results associated with auto theft are owners losing their vehicles, consumers paying higher insurance premiums, and rental car agencies raising their fees. We all pay.
"Foreign terrorist organizations have long enabled violence to intrude into our communities around the U.S. and in Mexico."
The stolen vehicles are being used by the La Línea and the Sinaloa drug cartels, which operate in and around Juárez, the federal authorities said.
"These are not isolated property crimes," Belyeu said. "The stolen vehicles related to this operation are used to support the day-to-day operations of dangerous criminal organizations across the United States and in Mexico."
The federal law enforcement leaders stood next to photographs showing several stolen vehicles with bullet holes as evidence of how drug cartels "exploit stolen vehicles to fuel violence and put lives at risk."
"They use these vehicles to facilitate murder and the disposal of their own countrymen, to smuggle humans, including children, into the United States," Simmons said. "Many of whom are later extorted as they're held in stash houses in U.S. neighborhoods, right here in El Paso and elsewhere across the country.
"They also use these vehicles to smuggle guns into Mexico and ultimately, as we all know, to traffic drugs into the United States, including dangerous drugs."
Defendants indicted in Operation Southbound Takedown
The 13 suspects were indicted and arrested between March 25 and Oct. 19. Those indicted are:
U.S. citizens:
- Kimberly Aguilar
- Marty Gerardo Jr.
- David Monarrez
- Cesar David Diaz
- Sinuhe Baltizar Lopez
- Christopher Rene Reyes
- Angel Antonio Flores
- Aaron Fernando Luna-Evans
- Amy Foote
- James Dewey Garrett
- Hilario Abraham Morales
Two defendants are Mexican citizens:
- Pablo Frias
- Pilar Bernabeth Mendez Rivas
Charged with aiding 'foreign terrorists organizations'
Anyone arrested for stealing vehicles for drug cartels could face an enhanced punishment for aiding foreign terrorist organizations. The increased sentencing comes after President Donald Trump designated Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations in February 2025.
The punishment carries a 10-year federal prison sentence.
"So our message is this: for those being recruited by these organizations, the likelihood is high that you're supporting a foreign terrorist organization, and if we can prove it, we will hit you with those charges. We will hit you with material support of a foreign terrorist organization, and regardless, we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law."
Aaron Martinez covers the criminal justice system for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com and @AMartinezEPT on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 13 indicted for smuggling stolen cars through El Paso to cartels
