FORT HOOD, Texas (KXXV) — A former U.S. Army soldier who was stationed at Fort Hood has been sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison for helping to organize a human smuggling operation involving two fellow soldiers.
Enrique Jauregui, 26, received a 33-month sentence in federal court in Pecos after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting the transportation of undocumented immigrants for profit.
Court records show Jauregui orchestrated the 2024 operation, recruiting soldiers Angel Palma, 21, and Emilio Mendoza Lopez, 22, to pick up and transport three undocumented immigrants from Presidio.
Jauregui coordinated the logistics and promised payment for the job.
On Nov. 27, 2024, Palma and Mendoza Lopez departed from Fort Hood (then known as Fort Cavazos) and picked up the migrants.
The trip ended in a high-speed chase with U.S. Border Patrol agents that resulted in a crash with a marked patrol vehicle, injuring an agent.
All individuals in the vehicle fled on foot; Palma was later arrested at a hotel in Odessa. All three soldiers pleaded guilty in early 2025. Palma and Mendoza Lopez were each sentenced in May to 24 months in federal prison. Each of the men will serve three years of supervised release following their prison terms.
Jauregui was also fined $10,000.
"The sentencing of these individuals underscores the serious consequences of engaging in human smuggling,” Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens for Homeland Security Investigations said.
El Paso. “Recruiting fellow soldiers to participate in illegal activities, culminating in a reckless high-speed chase with law enforcement, is a blatant betrayal of duty and public trust. HSI, alongside our law enforcement partners, remains committed to dismantling smuggling networks and ensuring those responsible face justice."
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol, and the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID). Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Cayton prosecuted the case.
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