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Mexican national acting as a river guide sentenced in fatal smuggling case

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Published  June 23, 2025 11:25am CDT
Texas
FOX 26 Houston
article

A guard tower and razor wire at a prison in Texas. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

The Brief

    • A 23-year-old Mexican national who admitted to acting as a river guide in a fatal smuggling attempt has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.
    • The individual he guided across the border experienced breathing difficulties and died five days later in the hospital.
    • The smuggler will face deportation to Mexico after completing his prison sentence.

McALLEN, Texas - A 23-year-old Mexican national who admitted to acting as a river guide in a fatal smuggling attempt has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced Friday. 

Jose Guadalupe Antonio-Arredondo pleaded guilty on April 3.

Smuggling Incident Details

The backstory:

Antonio-Arredondo admitted that on July 12, 2024, he led an undocumented immigrant and another brush guide across a river to the border wall before returning to Mexico.

After crossing, the undocumented individual experienced breathing difficulties and collapsed. The brush guide ran from the scene, seeking refuge in a nearby house to evade law enforcement. 

Authorities later found the undocumented immigrant and took him to a hospital, where he died on July 17, 2024.

Sentencing and Deportation

Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane ordered Antonio-Arredondo's sentence. 

As a non-U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings by immigration authorities after completing his prison term. He will remain in custody until his transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.

The Source: Information in this article is from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas.

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