The following press release was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
An illegal alien from Mexico was sentenced in federal court in Del Rio to 15 years in prison for his role in a human smuggling operation that resulted in a death, U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas announced.
According to court documents, on April 17, 2025, Alan Vargas-Gonzalez, 23, of Huetamo, Michoacán, Mexico, was apprehended along with five illegal aliens near Eagle Pass.
An investigation revealed Vargas-Gonzalez was the foot guide for the group of illegal aliens. Agents noted that all of the individuals had backpacks containing food and/or water and that Vargas-Gonzalez was the only person not wearing camouflage clothing and the only one who did not have carpet glued to the bottom of his shoes.
Further investigation connected Vargas-Gonzalez with a previous smuggling attempt that resulted in the death of a Guatemalan woman in March 2025. A forensic examination of Vargas-Gonzalez’s cellphone revealed information that corroborated his involvement in the fatal smuggling event, including conversations with other co-conspirators related to human smuggling.
Vargas-Gonzalez was arrested on April 17, 2025, and indicted on May 14, 2025. A superseding indictment filed on Oct. 1 charged him with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens causing serious bodily injury and one count of transporting illegal aliens causing serious bodily injury.
He pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge on Nov. 17. U.S. District Judge Ernest Gonzalez presided over the case.
The U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case.
