LAREDO, Texas — A 39-year-old Mexican national pleaded guilty to harboring 32 illegal aliens in a stash house so dangerously hot and poorly ventilated that one person died from heat exposure, ICE Homeland Security Investigations announced.
Cruz Alberto de la Garza admitted he conspired with others to keep the illegal aliens at the Laredo property and helped transport them, including instructing them to get into a tractor trailer, which he initially drove before parking and exiting the vehicle. The trailer, located on a ranch-style property, had little to no air conditioning, inadequate ventilation, little food and no access to a toilet. No one inside was permitted to leave.
“Human smuggling is a multibillion-dollar criminal industry that benefits criminals who prioritize profits over human life,” said acting ICE Director David J. Venturella. “It threatens U.S. border security and public safety and is one of the many crimes that HSI investigates. Unfortunately, deaths caused by human smugglers’ greed and carelessness are not uncommon, and de la Garza’s victim is among many other deaths we see each year in cases like these.”
HSI special agents launched their investigation Oct. 15, 2025, after two illegal aliens were dropped off at an emergency room and one was pronounced dead. The medical examiner identified one cause of death as environment exposure with heat effects. Agents subsequently discovered 30 illegal aliens housed inside the trailer on the property.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime. Human smuggling operations like the one De la Garza participated in continue to generate enormous profits for criminal networks while treating human cargo as expendable.
De la Garza faces up to life in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 1 before U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo.