Evergreen Reporter

A Mexican national has been sentenced to 97 months in a federal prison in El Paso for his involvement in a conspiracy to transport aliens. Victor Ubaldo Hernandez-Ortega, aged 33 and hailing from Durango, served as a load driver for a known human smuggler. Court documents reveal that he was responsible for picking up illegal aliens in El Paso and transporting them either within the city or to Albuquerque, New Mexico, receiving payments ranging from $100 to $500 per alien. Additionally, Hernandez-Ortega managed two stash houses where over 200 illegal aliens were harbored.

Hernandez-Ortega had previously been granted four voluntary departures, with the most recent occurring on June 9, 2024, through Santa Teresa, New Mexico. His arrest took place on August 21, 2024, and he entered a guilty plea on December 20 of the same year.

The announcement of his sentencing was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas. The investigation into this case was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Border Patrol.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Dearden led the prosecution of this case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, an initiative aimed at addressing illegal immigration and dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs). The operation seeks to protect communities from violent crime by utilizing resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).