Forty-two illegal immigrants were found locked inside a sweltering tractor-trailer with no means of escape at a South Texas Border Patrol checkpoint last week.
The truck's driver, Juan Nasario-Reyes, 43, of Beaver, Oklahoma, now faces federal human smuggling and drug charges after agents discovered the immigrants—packed inside both the cab and trailer of his white Volvo tractor-trailer—at the Sarita checkpoint on May 16.
Agents became suspicious when Nasario-Reyes appeared nervous at the checkpoint. He told officers his truck and trailer were empty and that he was traveling alone—but a trained K-9 was alerted to the sleeper compartment of the cab and the front of the trailer.
During a secondary inspection, agents found four immigrants concealed inside the cab and 38 more packed inside the trailer. The trailer had been latched shut from the outside, leaving those inside with no way to open the doors or get out.
Inside the trailer, agents found water bottles, trash, a cushion, and a bucket that had been used for urination, according to a criminal complaint cited by authorities. The temperature inside the trailer was about 92.5 degrees when they were found.
The 42 immigrants came from nine countries: Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Cuba, and Brazil. Thirteen of those face either illegal entry or reentry charges, while the remaining immigrants are expected to be removed from the country.
During the search of the cab, agents also allegedly found an estimated 16 grams of methamphetamine, a glass pipe, and a glass funnel inside a headphone box.
Nasario-Reyes faces up to five years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine if convicted on the human smuggling charges, and up to 40 years in prison for the drug counts.
The arrest follows a broader federal push against human smuggling operations along the southern border. Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck announced the charges as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative aimed at curbing illegal immigration and dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
“This rescue likely prevented a tragedy," Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent Sean McGoffin said in a statement. "With summer temperatures already climbing, packing people into trailers and vehicles without proper ventilation or water is a recipe for disaster. Human lives should never be treated as cargo."
The nation's deadliest known smuggling incident occured in June 2022, when 53 migrants were found dead in the back of a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas. The victims, from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, had each paid smugglers between $12,000 and $15,000 to be transported across the border. Two people were convicted in that case and face up to life in prison.