EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Two confessed “foot guides” were among a group of seven individuals apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol as they scaled the border wall just east of the Ysleta port of entry in El Paso last week.
The men identified as Alexis Maldonado Munoz and Irving Arellano Torres were observed by Border Patrol agents scaling the steel bollards barrier along with five others on Jan. 17. The group came down and rushed to hide under a nearby overpass. Court records show border agents moved in on the group, detained the individuals and transported them to the Ysleta Border Patrol Station, where agents discovered they had caught two alleged smugglers in the act.
La Linea cartel ‘foot guide’ arrested in El Paso
In a lengthy interview with federal investigators, Maldonado allegedly admitted to conspiring to bring unauthorized non-citizens across the border wall for money. Court records show he told agents a smuggling organization pays him 4,000 Mexican pesos ($232) for each individual he brings across and that he was leading five migrants to a waiting driver when the Border Patrol apprehended the group last Wednesday.