DEL RIO, Texas — A 35-year-old Houston man has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for conspiring to transport illegal aliens in his commercial semitruck, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas.
Francisco Javier Diaz was arrested on May 3, 2024, at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near Eagle Pass. While Diaz waited in his semitruck in the inspection lane, a USBP canine alerted agents to the sleeper compartment of the vehicle. Upon further inspection, agents discovered five individuals under the mattress and another man hidden in a compartment on the side of the bed. All six passengers were determined to be illegal aliens, whom Diaz was transporting from Eagle Pass to Houston, stated the source.
Diaz was indicted on one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and pleaded guilty on August 19, 2024. Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses presided over the case. The investigation was conducted by ICE Homeland Security Investigations and the USBP, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Nallely Duarte prosecuted the case…