A former Customs and Border Protection officer in El Paso is headed to federal prison for a decade after admitting he took hefty bribes to wave through undocumented migrants and help move cocaine across the border. The 10-year sentence, handed down March 2 in U.S. District Court, includes concurrent prison terms and orders to give up assets tied to the scheme, which prosecutors say revolved around the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry from late 2023 into early 2025.
According to federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas, an indictment accused Manuel Perez Jr. of letting vehicles driven by undocumented noncitizens pass through the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry and of conspiring to possess at least five kilograms of cocaine for distribution. The charges cover alleged conduct from Dec. 21, 2023, through Feb. 5, 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
In court filings and an amended information, Perez admitted guilt to three counts. He was ordered to serve 120 months on the drug conspiracy and bribery charges and 60 months on the human smuggling count, with those terms running at the same time. Once out of prison, he will be on supervised release for five years on the most serious charge and three years on the remaining counts, as reported by KFOX…