A suspected El Paso human smuggler nicknamed “Monstro” has been indicted by a federal grand jury accused in a conspiracy to transport undocumented migrants, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas said.
Manuel Alejandro Melendez Cereceres, 40, who is a Mexican citizen residing in El Paso, was allegedly a “facilitator” on the U.S. side of the border who coordinated the transportation of migrants in far West Texas and New Mexico, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release on Thursday, July 17.
Melendez is accused of playing a key role in the human smuggling rackets in the Borderland from February 2023 until June 18, when he was arrested by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, according to jail records and a federal grand jury indictment filed on July 16.
Melendez was allegedly involved in recruiting and coordinating drivers and vehicles to pick up migrants after they illegally crossed the border, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations agents stand watch after a large group undocumented migrants was found inside a stash house on Aug. 6, 2024, in West-Central El Paso in this file photo.
Migrants were then taken to stash houses set up at homes and hotels, where migrants stayed before being picked up and transported to other cities by other drivers.
In recent years, El Paso has frequently seen potentially dangerous, high-speed pursuits of drivers transporting migrants, often attempting to flee Texas state troopers as part Operation Lone Star, the state’s border security initiative.
Melendez has been held at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown without bond since he was booked by HSI on June 18, according to a jail log. He is listed as residing in the 79922 ZIP code, which covers portion of the West Side and Upper Valley.
‘Monstro’ arrest part of Operation Take Back America
Melendez was indicted on a federal charge of “conspiracy to transport aliens” within the United States along with a person named Steven Gibson, who faces an added charge of transporting aliens for financial gain on June 17, according to the indictment.
Both men also face a charge of conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in serious bodily injury associated with an injury to a person, identified in the indictment only by the initials MPAA, on May 14-15 of this year.
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The indictment does not describe the circumstance and location involving the injury in the smuggling case.
The case was part of Operation Take Back America, the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration also targeting drug cartels and international gangs. An investigation by HSI and the U.S. Border Patrol continues.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Feds indict ‘Monstro,’ suspected Texas, NM border migrant smuggler