Braulio Ivan Rueda, Transporting Illegal Aliens, Texas 2024

LAREDO, Texas – In a shocking turn of events, a 23-year-old Laredo man has been sentenced to federal prison for transporting illegal aliens after a high-speed chase.

Braulio Ivan Rueda, 23, pleaded guilty to transporting illegal aliens on February 27, 2024. U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña has now ordered Rueda to serve a total of 21 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

The charges stem from an incident on November 25, 2024, where Rueda was driving an SUV with fictitious plates. Several people ran from the Rio Grande River into the vehicle. When authorities tried to block the vehicle, four Guatemalan nationals fled towards the river. Rueda sped away and led authorities on a three-mile chase before stopping in a commercial parking lot and attempting to escape on foot.

Authorities soon took him into custody and located the four illegal aliens. During an investigation, Rueda admitted that he needed money and agreed to smuggle the aliens for "easy money." One of the aliens had stated that he arranged to be smuggled into the United States and picked up near Laredo.

Rueda will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. The investigation was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from Border Patrol, Laredo Police Department, Webb County Sheriff’s Office, and Webb County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Homero Ramirez is prosecuting the case.

The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the government to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

In a statement, officials noted that Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/local-felon-sentenced-transporting-illegal-aliens-after-high-speed-chase