Texas trucker admits to accepting $9,000 to illegally transport Mexican citizens, officials say

A Texas truck driver pleaded guilty to human smuggling charges after an X-ray scan at a Border Patrol checkpoint revealed two people hidden in the cab of his semi.

Alamo resident Lazaro Rosendo Vega, 62, admitted to illegally transporting two Mexican citizens in a tractor-trailer, according to a September 8 statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

On May 30, 2025, Vega approached the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint in a maroon tractor trailer.

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

“At primary inspection, authorities noticed him sitting unusually high in his seat and acting abnormally loud and excited. When asked what he was hauling, he claimed “avocados loaded about two hours ago.”

A subsequent x-ray scan revealed two illegal aliens hidden under blankets on the top bunk of the sleeper cab. Both were citizens of Mexico. Vega claimed he was unaware of the two men hiding just feet behind him.”

As part of a plea deal, Vega admitted that one of the people he was transporting claimed to have “entered the United States about a month earlier, was led to a warehouse and later placed in Vega’s tractor-trailer.” That person paid $9,000 to be smuggled into Fort Worth and was hidden inside the cab with another man for extended periods before the truck continued north, Vega said.

Officials further allege that Vega blocked the view of his dash cam before picking up the Mexican citizens.

Sentencing is scheduled for December 10, 2025. Vega faces up to five years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

U.S. Border Patrol conducted this investigation.