Border Patrol officials are warning Rio Grande Valley youth to stay away from smuggling following the arrests of two teenagers caught with illegal immigrants in Brownsville.
"They're either going to go to jail or they're going to be killed,” Rosalinda Huey with the RGV Border Patrol sector.
There's no sugar coating the reality of dabbling in illegal activity, especially when it involves gangs or cartels and moving their drugs.
"We have seen where teenagers have been recruited by cartels to be drug runners, they pay them to drive a load from point A to point C,” Huey said.
Huey said teenagers are becoming scapegoats who are tricked into thinking they can make quick money and not suffer any consequences since they more than likely won't be prosecuted on a federal level.
"They think that there won't be as harsh consequences for them as there would be for an adult," Huey said.
There are state and local charges to answer to. 17-year-old Edgar Gutierrez was recently arrested in Brownsville after trying to smuggle human cargo.
He's now in the Cameron County Jail under an unlawful transport charge.
There's no indication Gutierrez was working for a cartel, but for others who dare to, agents say if the job isn't done correctly, they themselves become the targets.
“Operation Detour” aims to save them from a life of crime and from potentially losing their own lives.
"We've gone into the schools and we've presented to the children to let them know that there are consequences to joining these cartels and gangs and sometimes it's your life," Huey said.
More than a100,000 Rio Grande Valley students have already seen a video illustrating the horrors and tragedies of being a part of the so-called narco-terrorism underworld.
Agents will continue spreading their message, "take the detour and avoid the dead end of the drug world", until teenagers wake up to the real dangers that are sometimes lurking right next door.
“Operation Detour” will be presented at Donna High School this Friday.
Agents provide several numbers to students who need help such as those listed in their “Operation Detour” pamphlet.
To Report Crimes:
Cameron County Crime Stoppers (956) 350-5551
Hidalgo County Crime Stoppers (956) 668-8477
Rio Grande City Crime Stoppers (956) 488-8477
Willacy County Crime Stoppers (956) 642-7463
Pharr Police Department (956) 1-800-648-8477
U.S. Border Patrol (RGV Sector) 1-800-863-9382
CBP National Hotline 1-800-BE-ALERT
Drug Abuse & Addiction 24 Hour Hotline Numbers
1-800-757-0771 (First Step Recovery)
1-800-416-3200 (The Watershed)
1-800-494-1981 (Recovery Connection)
1-800-748-3577 (Rio Grande Valley Council, Inc.)
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