SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The Bexar County Sheriff’s Department Organized Crime Unit executed two search warrants on residences in San Antonio, leading to the arrest of five suspects due to a long-running investigation into human smuggling. Sheriff Javier Salazar told reporters one suspect is believed to be a member of the notorious Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.
Salazar briefed reporters after the warrants were executed on Wednesday, highlighting the joint law enforcement investigation between his office’s organized crime unit and the Border Patrol’s Laredo Sector intelligence branch. According to the Sheriff, the investigation into the human smuggling operation based in Mexico began in 2023 and involves smugglers who circumvent Border Patrol highway checkpoints to reach the interior of the United States.
During Wednesday’s enforcement operation, search warrants were executed in the 3700 block of West Avenue and the 200 block of Oriole Lane in the Alamo City. At the first residence, 24-year-old Jose Francisco Barrientos Vega, an illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested by the Bexar County Sheriff’s Gang Unit. According to Sheriff Salazar, Barrientos-Vega is being charged with smuggling of persons and organized criminal activity.
Two other suspects were apprehended during a traffic stop related to the search warrant on West Avenue. At that stop, 49-year-old Mary Lou Tula and 44-year-old Alexis Segundo Olivo Fernandez were taken into custody. Tula is believed to be a United States citizen and is being charged with operating a stash house, engaging in organized criminal activity, and smuggling persons.
According to Sheriff Salazar, investigators with his department and intelligence agents with the Border Patrol believe Olivo-Fernandez is a member of the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. Olivo-Fernandez, who is in the United States illegally, is being charged with operating a stash house, engaging in organized criminal activity, and smuggling of persons. According to Salazar, Olivo-Fernandez’s gang affiliation did not impact charges filed in Bexar County but may have a bearing if the case is elevated to the federal courts.
Two others captured during the operation included 25-year-old Brandon German Suarez and 19-year-old Bryan Jordan Suarez, both believed to be United States citizens. Salazar told reporters the duo was found at one search warrant location. Both are facing charges for small-quantity drug possession. Their involvement, if any, in the human-smuggling operation was not established at the time of their arrest.
According to Salazar, officers detained a sixth suspect who is also suspected of being a member of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. Salazar did not name the sixth person and indicated he is not associated with the human smuggling scheme. According to Salazar, the Venezuelan national suspected of Tren de Aragua membership will be turned over to the Border Patrol for processing and removal.
Salazar told reporters the smuggling venture dismantled on Wednesday has routinely smuggled between five and fifteen illegal aliens into the interior of the United States weekly. Emphasizing the monetary gain generated by the human smuggling organization involved in the scheme, Salazar told reporters, “This case goes back to 2023. These folks have associations with organizations that are responsible for upwards of a million dollars in seized cash.”
The five suspects arrested with the two search warrants on Wednesday are being held at the Bexar County Jail. The sixth detainee has been turned over to the Border Patrol. The case remains under investigation.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
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