Marco Antonio Nava Jr., Alien Smuggling, TX, 2023

Two active-duty U.S. Army soldiers are behind bars, charged with smuggling illegal aliens through a federal checkpoint in South Texas — a brazen act that cut across military uniform and duty. Marco Antonio Nava Jr., 19, and Joseph Edmond Cleveland, 25, both stationed in El Paso, were indicted for conspiring to transport and actually transporting two undocumented immigrants past a Border Patrol (BP) roadblock near Falfurrias on June 19, 2016.

At approximately 4:00 p.m. that day, Nava drove a vehicle through the checkpoint with Cleveland riding shotgun. What seemed like a routine inspection turned critical when a BP agent discovered two additional passengers hidden in the back seat. A swift interrogation confirmed the pair were illegal aliens — and that the two soldiers had knowingly brought them across the line.

The indictment, unsealed in Corpus Christi, charges both men with one count of conspiring to transport aliens and one count of actual alien transportation. The crime carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison if either is convicted. No weapons or cash were reported at the scene, but investigators say the act itself was a calculated breach of national security.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led the probe, peeling back layers of military privilege to expose what prosecutors say was a deliberate smuggling operation. U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, announcing the charges, made no exceptions for rank or service: “The law applies to everyone — even those wearing the uniform.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey S. Miller is handling the prosecution. Both Nava and Cleveland appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge B. Janice Ellington, who will oversee pretrial proceedings. The case shines a harsh light on exploitation of military mobility for criminal ends — and raises alarms about checkpoint vulnerabilities.

An indictment is not evidence of guilt. Marco Antonio Nava Jr., 19, and Joseph Edmond Cleveland, 25, are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The investigation was conducted by HSI. Trial dates have not yet been set.