EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — When Jose De La Cruz-Cardoza was caught trying to smuggle guns into Mexico, he said it wasn’t his first time.
The 52-year-old from the Mexican border town of Piedras Negras was arrested last July after border officers conducting outbound inspections at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry stopped him on his way to Mexico.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers say De La Cruz-Cardoza provided a “negative declaration” of either firearms, ammunition, or cash before they searched the vehicle and found eight handguns and 19 magazines.
Mexican national sentenced in Texas for trafficking guns into Mexico
According to court documents cited in a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, De La Cruz-Cardoza told investigators he expected between $150 and $200 for every gun he took back to Mexico, adding that he’d done it 10-12 times before.
Prosecutors say the guns were destined for a Mexican drug cartel…