LAREDO, TX- A Mexican national who harbored 32 illegal aliens in a so-called “stash house” has pleaded guilty to federal human smuggling charges, Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck for the Southern District of Texas announced in a press release.
Cruz Alberto de la Garza, 39, admitted that he conspired with others for harboring illegal aliens at the Laredo stash house in Laredo and also assisted in transporting them.
On Oct. 15, 2025, two illegal aliens were dropped off at an emergency room. One was pronounced dead on arrival. The medical examiner determined the cause of death as environmental exposure with heat effects.
That same day, law enforcement officials encountered a tractor trailer at a Border Patrol checkpoint in Cotulla, Texas, and found 30 illegal aliens crammed into the trailer’s sleeper compartment, the release said.
An investigation ensued and it was found that all 32 had been kept in a white trailer on a ranch-style property being used as a stash house. Authorities said the stash house was extremely hot with little to no air conditioning, limited food and water, and inadequate ventilation, the release continued. There was no toilet access and the illegals were forced to use a bucket. None were allowed to leave the premises.
At some point, de la Garza told the illegal aliens to get into the tractor trailer and drove them for a distance before parking and exiting the vehicle.
In a separate release, acting ICE Director David J. Venturella said such deaths were unfortunately “not uncommon.”
“Human smuggling is a multibillion-dollar criminal industry that benefits criminals who prioritize profits over human life,” Venturella said. “It threatens U.S. border security and public safety and is one of the many crimes that HSI investigates. Unfortunately, deaths caused by human smugglers’ greed and carelessness are not uncommon, and de la Garza’s victim is among many other deaths we see each year in cases like these.”
De la Garza’s sentencing is set for Sept. 1 before U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo, where he is facing up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative 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.
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