DEL RIO, TEXAS — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Texas, Western), published as received.

DEL RIO, Texas – A federal jury convicted a Lawful Permanent Resident from Mexico today for two counts related to her attempt to smuggle two illegal aliens further into the United States from Eagle Pass to San Antonio, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in January, U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended Juanita Elizabeth Medina, 57, of Coahuila, Mexico, at the Eagle Pass South immigration checkpoint on Highway 57. Medina and her co-defendant Roque Manuel De Hoyos were on their way to San Antonio with two illegal aliens in the vehicle. 

During an immigration inspection, Medina provided numerous inconsistent statements to agents about her relationship with the two illegal aliens. A search revealed 2.75 grams of methamphetamine, a pipe with substance residue, and three cellphones, two of which she did not have the passcodes to.

Medina and her co-defendant De Hoyos were arrested in January and charged with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and one count of transportation of illegal aliens for profit. De Hoyos pleaded guilty to both counts in May. Medina’s jury trial began on Sept. 21 and resulted in a guilty verdict on both counts. U.S. District Judge Ernest Gonzalez presided over the trial.

U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Perez and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Shilling are prosecuting the case. Bertha Meza and Marisol Rangel provided valuable litigation support throughout the trial and preparation.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. HSTF utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

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