Man pleads guilty in migrants-for-drugs investigation

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A man who initially told authorities he was picking up a friend’s relatives at 2 a.m. at the base of a mountain straddling the Mexican border has pleaded guilty to migrant smuggling.

Armando Fierro Jr. on Wednesday signed a plea agreement in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico admitting he knew the “relatives” were migrants he intended to transport in an SUV to a stash house before two U.S. Border Patrol vehicles intercepted him near Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico.

Border agents watching the mountain with special surveillance equipment observed four individuals come over from Mexico and make their way downhill in the dark. Then they saw a green SUV approach the area on the New Mexico side of the border and wait for them to get in, according to a federal criminal complaint filed on Jan. 27.

One of the agents drove toward the green SUV and turned on his patrol unit’s flashing lights but the driver did not stop; a second agent cut him off and conducted a felony stop, records show.

The driver later identified as Fierro allegedly said he was just doing his friend a favor by picking up some relatives. Border agents questioned his passengers and established some were citizens of Guatemala, others were from Mexico and not related.

Court records show Fierro’s cellphone stored a conversation with a man identified as “John Doe” instructing Fierro to “pick up some boxes.” That’s a term referring to migrants that need to be moved from point A to point B, according to the Border Patrol. Fierro allegedly said the friend offered to pay him in drugs for picking up his “relatives,” and that his friend has “hooked him up” with drugs before, the complaint states.

Wednesday’s plea filing shows Fierro is admitting guilt to one count of transporting illegal aliens and one count of aiding and abetting. In exchange, the suspect could receive a reduced sentence for crimes punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The nearly 4,700-foot-tall Mount Cristo Rey for decades has posed a challenge to the Border Patrol. Half the mountain is on the Mexican side and its steep terrain not only poses a danger to migrants crossing the border illegally but makes fencing-off impractical.

Sunland Park public safety officials have told Border Report they constantly receive reports of migrants passing through people’s property or suspicious vehicles picking up individuals near the border. In addition, the Sunland Park Fire Department responds to frequent calls of migrants injured falling over the border wall or in Mount Cristo Rey.

The mountain draws thousands of pilgrims in spring and fall who converge on a statue of Christ the Redeemer at the top.

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