An Alabama man was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 96 months in prison for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, placing lives in jeopardy.
Court documents say that Joel Contreras Jr., 33, of Albertville, Alabama, was a member of the Guzman Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO), an international criminal enterprise operating in Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana and Mexico.
Directly connected to the Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), the organization traffics guns and drugs and smuggles illegal aliens into the United States.
From May 2021 through June 1, 2022, Contreras communicated with other members of the criminal conspiracy, including the head of the Guzman TCO. Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers conducted a traffic stop on Contreras on May 9, 2022, after noticing that the rear quarter panel of his vehicle was sitting low and showing little to no room between the tire and the wheel well of the vehicle.
During the traffic stop, the troopers noticed human bodies concealed by a blanket in the second row of the vehicle as well as within the rear hatch area of the vehicle. The concealed individuals were identified as illegal aliens whom Contreras had picked up at an Eagle Pass gas station and was transporting to either Houston or San Antonio. Upon delivery of the aliens, Contreras was to be paid $500 per alien.
He was charged by the state for smuggling of persons with a likelihood of serious bodily injury or death—charges which were ultimately dismissed.
Contreras was again arrested in September 2024 for alleged forgery and obstruction of justice in Marshall County, Alabama. While in custody, Conteras admitted to his role in the Guzman TCO and his participation in alien smuggling events. A search of his phone revealed various photos, phone numbers, and pin drop locations related to the TCO’s smuggling ventures.
Contreras was transferred to ICE custody on Nov. 22, 2024, and pleaded guilty on Feb. 18, 2025.
He is one of 14 defendants charged and the first to be sentenced in the large-scale TCO.
It is estimated that the TCO moves 50-100 illegal aliens per month through the Western District of Texas. To date, law enforcement has been able to attribute more than 1,000 illegal aliens and 400 failed smuggling events to the Guzman TCO.
Contreras was held accountable for smuggling 655 illegal aliens.
This week, Border Patrol arrested four British Nationals accused of trying to sneak into the U.S. from Canada through Maine.
ICE Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case with assistance from the FBI.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.