McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A man who deported migrants for the federal government was held without bond Monday after being charged with possession of child pornography. Edgar E. Guillen, 29, of Weslaco kept videos of a naked 12-year-old girl on his phone, according to a federal criminal complaint against him. “There is evidence of potential [...]

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A man who allegedly transported migrants from Port Mansfield to Corpus Christi in a speedboat was held without bond Monday. Border Patrol arrested Alec Ray Foss, 28, of Corpus Christi on Oct. 6, when agents found three migrants — two from Ecuador and one from Guatemala — hiding in his boat. [...]

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — On Tuesday morning, when he appeared before a judge for sentencing, Jacob Lix Par said Border Patrol saved his life. Jacob Lix Par, 41, of Guatemala lived in Houston for about 20 years. In 2025, however, the Houston Police Department arrested Lix on a misdemeanor charge — and he was deported. [...]

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — In March, when customs officers caught Acxel Marquez transporting drugs, his mother received a phone call. Marquez had crossed the border with 121 pounds of methamphetamine. If convicted, he faced a mandatory minimum of 10 years in federal prison. “Her response was: ‘Ni modo,’” Assistant Federal Public Defender Christina Conway-Navarro said [...]

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A sex offender from Alaska was placed on probation Tuesday after he paid smugglers to bring a woman and her 14-year-old daughter across the Rio Grande. Douglas Price, 44, of Chugiak, Alaska, paid smugglers at least $5,000 to bring the woman and her daughter across the border in January. “I accept [...]

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A businessman from McAllen pleaded not guilty to a conspiracy charge on Thursday after federal prosecutors linked him to a major drug shipment. Prosecutors linked Jose Luis Garcia Gonzalez Jr., 46, of McAllen to a couple from Bay City, Texas, that got caught with more than 345 pounds of cocaine. “Not [...]

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A bookie who collected nearly $3.8 million from high-rollers in South Texas pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge on Monday. Marco Antonio Cardenas, 48, of Mission — and other people who participated in the conspiracy — received nearly $3.8 million from March 2019 to March 2026. Cardenas collected nearly $2.9 [...]

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A woman accused of counting cash at a stash house was held without bond Tuesday. Leila Lizette Vallejo, 21, of Donna, Texas, allegedly recorded herself counting cash at a stash house in Mission. When federal agents searched the stash house, they found about $903,000 in cash — and videos of Vallejo [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Drug Enforcement Administration announced Thursday that agents in McAllen seized over 2,000 pounds of methamphetamine hidden within a shipment of cabbage. "This major seizure is part of a Homeland Security Taskforce Investigation, conducted jointly with HSI, FBI, CBP, USB, and TXDPS," the DEA Houston office posted on social media. The [...]