SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Federal prosecutors in San Diego and Imperial counties filed 153 border-related criminal cases last week, targeting offenses from drug smuggling to illegal reentry and attacks on federal officers, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California announced. This region, which includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry—the busiest land border crossing in the world between San Diego and Tijuana—remains a major hotspot for federal border prosecutions.
Among those charged were repeat immigration offenders and suspected drug traffickers.
On May 11, Mario Santiago-Velasquez, a Mexican national with five prior immigration convictions, was arrested for illegally reentering the U.S. after deportation. The following day, Juan Jose Perez-Garcia, also from Mexico and with five previous immigration offenses, was sentenced to seven months in federal custody for illegal reentry.
Drug trafficking cases at major ports like San Ysidro and Calexico continue to dominate the charges.
On May 13, U.S. citizen Juan Nazario Lizarraga Peralta was stopped at San Ysidro carrying seven pounds of fentanyl and 11 pounds of cocaine strapped to his body, according to Customs officials. That same day, Customs and Border Protection officers at the Calexico East Port of Entry found over 200 pounds of cocaine hidden in a trailer frame driven by Mexican national Oscar Echevarria-Luque.
On May 14, Ernesto Alejandro Rodriguez Gallegos was arrested at San Ysidro for allegedly smuggling 135 pounds of cocaine in his vehicle, prosecutors said.
Federal judges also sentenced previously deported individuals with violent criminal records last week.
On May 16, Serafin Abelino-Medel, with past convictions including assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence, received 15 months in federal custody. That same day, Isaac Lopez-Rodriguez was sentenced to two years after illegally reentering the U.S., despite a 2015 conviction for attempted aggravated assault.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office highlighted that these cases support the Department of Justice’s “Operation Take Back America,” an initiative aimed at cracking down on undocumented immigrants with criminal records, drug and firearm offenses, and those posing risks to public and law enforcement safety.
