Teen smuggler cuffed after chase

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Ivan Oseguera

Texas Highway Patrol troopers and deputies of the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 19-year-old San Antonio man last week after he led them on a chase between Catarina and Cotulla while transporting a number of undocumented immigrants.
Reports of the pursuit came to the La Salle County dispatch office shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday, September 14, when the driver later identified as Ivan Alexys Oseguera sped from Highway Patrol troopers on the rural two-lane FM 133 between Catarina and Artesia Wells.
Oseguera was at the wheel of a Dodge Charger sedan and is believed to have been transporting at least four undocumented immigrants, according to the sheriff’s office.
Officers continued the pursuit when Oseguera reached IH-35 and turned north, traveling at a high rate of speed until he reached Cotulla, where he steered off the interstate at Exit 68.
“The suspect blew right through the intersection between the access road and North Main Street,” La Salle County Sheriff Anthony Zertuche said of the case. “There is a construction site at the highway underpass, and he went right across, towards the access road, and that’s where he stopped.”
The sheriff said that Highway Patrol troopers had earlier reported Oseguera had stopped the car on FM 133 and that at least one passenger had climbed out of the Dodge and evaded capture by fleeing into the roadside brush.
“When Oseguera stopped the car just north of the Main Street intersection, his other passengers bailed out,” the sheriff said. “We were able to arrest the driver and two of his passengers, but the remainder fled into the brush.”
Oseguera was jailed on two third-degree felony charges of human smuggling and a third-degree felony charge of evading arrest with a vehicle.
Sheriff Zertuche echoed the opinion of Frio County sheriff’s officers last week that recent cases involving smugglers of undocumented immigrants have shown a number of drivers are teenagers who have been lured into the work via social media.
Although Oseguera is listed as an adult, cases involving smuggler arrests earlier this month included a 17-year-old driver in a stolen vehicle from Houston, stopped by Encinal police.
Discussing a similar case involving teen drivers, Frio County Chief Deputy Peter Salinas said he believes juveniles are being recruited at a record rate to transport undocumented immigrants under the promise of fast cash payments.
“Juveniles are being persuaded to engage in illegal activity by glamorizing human smuggling,” Chief Deputy Salinas said. “They are lured in by the large amounts of money that they are promised. We ask that parents monitor their children’s social media accounts.”
Salinas added that parents should also be vigilant of their children coming into possession of valuables that may indicate they have been paid unusually large amounts of money. Sheriff Zertuche said on Friday that interviews with smugglers have revealed they responded to offers of thousands of dollars for transporting undocumented immigrants between border counties and Texas cities such as San Antonio, Austin and Houston.
“There is no question that the offers are being made on social media platforms, including Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok,” the sheriff said. “We have had cases in which drivers admitted they were being paid thousands, and in one case we had a young driver who was paid regardless of whether he made it to his destination.
“I think this is a matter of very serious concern,” the sheriff said. “I agree with the sheriff’s officers in Frio County that we should be encouraging parents to watch what their teenagers are being exposed to on social media, but we also have to get the message out to the teens themselves. Not only is it illegal – and you could be looking at five years in prison – but it’s also very dangerous, potentially deadly.
“Too many young drivers have been critically injured or have been killed when they lose control of their vehicles, transporting immigrants and trying to evade capture,” the sheriff said. “This is a running tragedy that affects all of us.”