Mexican National Guard member let stolen cars through US border for months, federal agents say

SEATTLE - Homeland Security Investigations special agents arrested Luis Enrique Guzmán Pablo, a member of the Mexican National Guard assigned to customs in Matamoros, and charged him with conspiracy to defraud the United States in a scheme that saw him work with criminal groups to allow stolen vehicles to cross into Mexico.

Federal authorities arrested Guzmán on July 13 after an interview at the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates, one of three international bridges that connect Mexico and the United through the cities of Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas.

Veterans International Bridge sees an average traffic of about 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis, including about 800 trucks. Guzman told investigators that he had been previously contacted by co-conspirators who wanted him to allow stolen vehicles to cross into Mexico. A search of Guzmán's cellphone showed proof of a red Chevrolet Blazer that crossed into Mexico on May 19 after being reported stolen to the Brownsville Police Department.

"In a post Miranda statement, Guzman stated he was a member of the Mexico National Guard assigned to customs in Matamoros, Mexico," a criminal complaint read. "Guzman stated his job was to inspect merchandise brought from the United States, including through the Veterans International Bridge, and taken to Mexico."

Guzmán told U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers that he was being paid to be a "lookout/coordinator" for stolen vehicles trying to enter Mexico. In the complaint, he stated that he would be paid for approximately five to six vehicles per night, receiving approximately $150 dollars per vehicle.

Investigators obtained WhatsApp records between Guzman and the co-conspirators dating from at least May 6.

This practice is not isolated to the Brownsville/Matamoros area, also happening across the U.S.-Mexico southern border. In Tijuana, auto thefts remain high with an average of about 18 vehicles stolen per day, according to Rubén Alfredo Maximiliano Ramos, prosecutor with the Baja Attorney General's Office. Ramos said that during the first five months of 2024 there were 2,761 stolen vehicles reported in Tijuana.

In 2022, more than one million cars were stolen, the highest number since 2008, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the insurance industry's association that tracks annual vehicle thefts. Last year, license plate readers installed at checkpoints in California, Arizona and Texas recorded 2,829 stolen vehicles driven into Mexico, this according to the California Highway Patrol.