South Texas man sentenced to more than 4 years in federal prison for attempting to smuggle weapons into Mexico
DEL RIO, Texas — A South Texas man was sentenced Wednesday for his role in a conspiracy to smuggle weapons from the United States into Mexico.
This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance of Texas Department of Public Safety, Uvalde County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office, Uvalde Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Explosives.
On Sept. 23, U.S. District Judge Alia Moses sentenced Roberto Reyna, 25, from Uvalde, Texas, to 57 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Reyna pleaded guilty to the charge Jan. 22.
“Stopping the flow of illegally exported ammunition and weapons into Mexico is an urgent priority for HSI,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Mark Dawson, HSI San Antonio. “We routinely work with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to prevent these items from falling into the hands of the drug cartels, which poses a threat here and abroad.”
According to court documents, on April 27, 2011, Reyna facilitated transporting several dozen weapons and ammunition magazines that were destined to Mexico. HSI was able to intercept these items after a second defendant in the case was arrested the same day in Uvalde, Texas.
Reyna remains in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. This case was prosecuted by the Western District of Texas.
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