Alabama Man Gets 8 Years for Smuggling Migrants Across Texas for Cartel Network

A federal judge in Del Rio sentenced Joel Contreras Jr., 33, of Albertville, Alabama, to 96 months in prison for his role in a cartel-linked smuggling network that investigators held accountable for moving more than 1,000 people across Texas.

Contreras pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens while placing lives in jeopardy, admitting his participation in the Guzman Transnational Criminal Organization, a smuggling ring tied to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion. Prosecutors held him personally accountable for the movement of 655 individuals.

The case broke open on May 9, 2022, when Texas Department of Public Safety troopers stopped Contreras and found people concealed under a blanket in his vehicle. Those passengers had been picked up at an Eagle Pass gas station and were being transported to destinations across Texas. Contreras collected roughly $500 per person, and his phone contained photos, contact information and pin-drop locations tied to the operation.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations led the inquiry, with assistance from the FBI and other law enforcement partners. Agents documented that the Guzman organization moved between 50 and 100 migrants per month; in total, authorities attributed more than 1,000 successful smuggling movements and 400 failed attempts to the group before the network was disrupted.

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Justin R. Simmons announced the sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner prosecuted the case.

Contreras is the first of 14 defendants charged in the broader conspiracy to be sentenced. With 13 co-defendants still awaiting resolution, federal prosecutors in Del Rio are not finished with the Guzman organization.