TX troopers catch smuggler who allegedly carried 5-year-old girl across border

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers made a significant arrest near the border in Del Rio, Texas, on Friday. The arrest was related to the alleged smuggling of a 5-year-old girl into the United States from Mexico.

According to Texas DPS, a trooper stopped a Dodge pickup truck in Del Rio after receiving information that a man had been captured by border surveillance carrying a child across the Rio Grande. The troopers kept a close watch on the pickup truck until they eventually conducted a traffic stop.

During the stop, it was discovered that the 5-year-old girl was from Mexico and had just been smuggled into the U.S. The trooper also matched the image of the girl in surveillance footage to the girl in the pickup truck. The girl’s mother, Dolores Lopez, was also in the truck at the time of the traffic stop.

Lopez, who is a temporary resident of North Carolina and originally from Mexico, informed the troopers that she had located a smuggling organization online and agreed to have her daughter smuggled into the U.S. for $8,000.

The troopers arrested the smuggler, identified as Roman Ibarra Rojo from Mexico, charging him with smuggling a person younger than 18 years old. Rojo confessed that he was going to be paid $1,000 to smuggle the 5-year-old girl into the U.S. It was also revealed that Rojo had been previously arrested in 2022 for smuggling.

Lopez and her daughter were referred to the U.S. Border Patrol with a recommendation to charge the mother with endangering her child. The decision to prosecute the mother will be left to the district attorney.

The incident highlights the ongoing challenges and risks associated with human smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border. The collaboration between law enforcement agencies like Texas DPS and Border Patrol is crucial in combating these illegal activities and ensuring the safety and security of individuals, especially children, who are often exploited in such operations.

The arrest serves as a reminder of the importance of border security and the continuous efforts needed to prevent criminal organizations from exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit. It also underscores the complexities of immigration enforcement and the need for comprehensive solutions to address the root causes of illegal migration.