Austin man arrested, accused of smuggling Honduran man wanted for attempted murder

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Henry Salazar (Source: Texas DPS)

AUSTIN - An Austin man was arrested and charged with human smuggling after Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers stopped his vehicle and found he was transporting a Honduran national wanted for attempted murder in Colorado, DPS announced Friday. The incident occurred as part of Operation Lone Star in Maverick County.

Henry Salazar (Source: Texas DPS)

Traffic Stop Leads to Discovery

What we know:

The arrest happened on Thursday, June 19, 2025, shortly after 9:30 p.m., when a DPS Trooper initiated a traffic stop on a white Toyota RAV4 SUV for a traffic violation on US-57 in Eagle Pass. During the stop, the trooper learned the vehicle's driver, identified as Henry Salazar, 34, of Austin, Texas, was engaged in human smuggling.

With assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol, the passenger was identified as Juan Carlos Rivera Garcia, 42, of Honduras.

Passenger Identified as Wanted Fugitive

Dig deeper:

Further investigation revealed that Rivera Garcia was a wanted fugitive from Arapahoe County, Colorado. His outstanding warrants included charges of attempted murder, domestic assault causing serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon, and child abuse knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury.

Authorities also discovered that Rivera Garcia had a history of illegal entry apprehensions in Denver, Colorado, between 2011 and 2018, and had been previously removed from the country in 2018.

Rivera Garcia was arrested and subsequently booked into the Maverick County Jail. Salazar was also arrested and charged with smuggling of persons, and was booked into the Val Verde Processing Center.