In his evidence, a federal agent claimed that a US Customs and Border Protection officer who was charged with smuggling migrants across the El Paso border was also working as a part of a Mexican drug cartel.
Investigators claimed during CBP Officer Manuel Perez Jr.’s arraignment hearing last Thursday that the 32-year-old California-born US citizen is a member of the La Linea, also known as the Juárez drug gang.
A special agent with the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility testified at the hearing, saying, “Many witnesses said he belonged to La Linea cartel in Mexico,” according to the El Paso Times.
On February 8, Perez was dismissed following his arrest on federal and human drug smuggling charges by the FBI El Paso West Texas Border Corruption Task Force.
If found guilty, Perez has a maximum sentence of 10 years to life in jail. He has no history of criminal activity or substance abuse. After the detention hearing on February 13, a federal magistrate court denied him bail and ordered him to stay in custody.
In his testimony, the special agent said that Perez told investigators that he received $2,500 for each undocumented immigrant he allowed to cross his inspection lane on the international bridge at the El Paso border.
The indictment explicitly claims that he repeatedly let a gray Nissan Pathfinder to cross the border transporting migrants, including children.
It’s unclear how many people Perez assisted in crossing the border illegally before he was apprehended.
The prosecution estimated that, under the conspiracy that began in December 2023, Perez may have padded his wallet with up to $400,000.
According to the accusation, he was also reportedly a part of a conspiracy to distribute cocaine between November 2019 and the start of this month. He is said to have assisted in the October 2023 transportation of eight kilograms of cocaine from El Paso to Louisiana and North Carolina.
During intercepted phone conversations, other traffickers mentioned “100% guarantee” crossings because of “the officer in their pocket,” the agent testified.
The smugglers who were heard on the phone might be lying about Perez’s involvement, according to Perez’s lawyer, Ruben Ortiz.
Informers are “pointing fingers, perhaps to gain favor from the government in their own cases,” Ortiz added, adding that “the cooperating witnesses are telling them (federal investigators) whatever they want to hear for now.”
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However, the agent said that Perez was constantly carrying a weapon, even while he slept, and that witnesses indicated he always had an armed security detail with him in Mexico.
He added that witnesses’ claims were backed up by photographic evidence.
The special agent echoed what another witness told investigators: Perez had stated that if it ever came to that, he would prefer to be captured in Mexico so that he could continue his illegal activity in jail.
When Perez wasn’t patrolling the border, he spent over 80% of his time in Mexico, according to CBP investigators who examined a database of recorded border crossings, the special agent claimed.
Perez resided there with his former girlfriend, Ortiz said, which is why he went there so frequently.
But according to the special agent, Mexican agents discovered $18,000 in cash during a sweep at Perez’s Juárez residence.
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The agent described Perez as “by all measures, he lives in Mexico.” The location of Perez’s alleged remaining smuggling earnings is unknown.
Given how much time Perez spent in Mexico and his suspected role in the cartel, the judge concluded that there was “no question” that he was a flight risk.
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