Texas Federal Jury Convicts Cuban National In Smuggling Operation

Thursday, September 12, 2024, 5:00 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX.- U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani reported that a federal jury for the Southern District of Texas has found a 49-year-old Cuban national guilty of Conspiring to Unlawfully Transport Non-U.S. Citizens.

     Following a two-day trial in the Federal Southern District Court of Texas, the jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding Deivis Reinaldo Rodriguez-Ramirez guilty of the charge.

     During the trial, the jury heard evidence that Rodriguez-Ramirez was part of a group of three men who conspired to conceal undocumented migrants inside a tractor-trailer.

Evidence Presented At Trial

     According to documents filed with the court and presented at trial on August 21, 2024, Daikiel Perdomo-Castro drove the tractor-trailer into the Border Patrol checkpoint near Falfurrias, Texas, with no visible occupants. After stopping, U.S. Border Patrol agents asked Perdomo-Castro to drive the tractor-trailer through an X-ray inspection.

     Border Patrol agents discovered Rodriguez-Ramirez, who had moved into the passenger seat, and eight individuals illegally present and attempting to hide in the sleeper compartment of the tractor. A third co-conspirator, Macdiel Labrada-Martin, was also found in the sleeper compartment.

Defense Counsel Try To Sway Jury

     During the trial, defense counsel attempted to convince the jury that even though Rodriguez-Ramirez was in the tractor with the other two conspirators and the eight undocumented aliens, he had no part in the offense. The jury did not believe those claims and found Rodriguez-Ramirez guilty of the charge.

     Perdomo-Castro, 40, and Labrada-Martin, 32, both of Louisville, Kentucky, previously pleaded guilty and received nine and 15 months in U.S. federal prison, respectively.

     Following the guilty verdict, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales-Ramos accepted the verdict and, filed on the record, and scheduled sentencing for December 4, 2024, at which time Rodriguez-Ramirez faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a potential fine of $250,000.