Thirteen people are facing federal charges after investigators say they helped move stolen vehicles out of El Paso and across the border to criminal organizations in Mexico. Authorities recovered 29 vehicles as part of the sweep, with 22 found in the United States and seven already in Mexico by the time agents caught up to them.
Federal officials announced the charges Monday as part of what they are calling Operation Southbound Takedown, an investigation that kfoxtv.com reports began in spring 2026 and remains active. Prosecutors allege the vehicles were stolen from individual owners and rental-car companies across the southwestern United States, then driven to El Paso before being pushed across the border. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, which posted about the case on X
, is based in San Antonio and oversees prosecutions tied to the investigation…