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FEDERAL COURT
Smuggler sentenced Man arrested for having 500 pounds of marijuana gets 5 years By PHILIP BALLI THE ZAPATA TIMES
A man who had a hand in the smuggling of about 500 pounds of marijuana in February in Zapata County was sentenced Wednesday in a Laredo federal court to five years in prison.
An indictment filed March 3 charges Heraldo Chapa with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana and possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. Rene Romeo Guerra, a
co-defendant in the case, is also charged in the indictment. Guerra accepted a plea agreement April 30 and pleaded guilty to the possession charge. He was sentenced to 18 months Dec. 4. Chapa pleaded guilty to
both counts May 1. On Feb. 5, federal agents said they received reports of a white pickup in the Falcon Lake area that had pulled into an abandoned warehouse. Agents said they then saw four people leaving the area, according to a criminal complaint.
An investigation led to the arrest of Chapa and Guerra. Agents said they found 509 pounds of marijuana inside the warehouse, records state. The contraband was valued at $407,200. Chapa allegedly admitted to transporting the
INVESTIGATION
marijuana during a postarrest interview Feb. 6. Agents said Chapa’s role was to open and close the ranch gates to allow the vehicle to pick up the marijuana. (Philip Balli may be reached at 728-2528 or pballi@lmtonline.com)
ZAPATA COUNTY
KIDS WITH CRIMINALS
ALBERTO GUERRA
Photo by Mark J. Terrill | AP
Marvin Velasco, 15, practices soccer outside his new home in Los Angeles. Velasco’s perilous journey from Guatemala included crossing a river, even though he doesn’t swim, and getting lost at night in a frigid desert.
Man busted for active warrant By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Committee examines migrant children abuse By GARANCE BURKE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO — Federal officials don’t know how many migrant children they’ve sent to live with convicted criminals across the U.S. over the last three years, at a time the government sought to speed young Central American migrants out of shelters and into private homes, the chair of a
bipartisan congressional subcommittee said Wednesday. Overwhelmed by the numbers of children crossing the border, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services weakened its child protection policies, leaving children vulnerable to human trafficking, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said in an opening statement to the Senate Permanent Sub-
committee on Investigations. The subcommittee is holding a hearing Thursday to examine weaknesses in the agency’s placement program for migrant children, which Portman says suffers from “serious, systemic defects.” The senator’s statement echoes the findings of an Associated Press investigation released Monday, which
found that more than two dozen unaccompanied children were sent to homes across the country where they were sexually assaulted, starved or forced to work for little or no pay. In his statement, Portman said that as part of its six-month investigation, the subcommittee reviewed “more than 30 cases
See ABUSE PAGE 8A
A man wanted in Zapata County was arrested this week in Laredo, according to reports. Laredo police identified the suspect as Alberto Guerra, 51. Reports state he had an active warrant for burglary of habitation. At about 11 p.m. Jan. 26, police said they spotted a gray Chevy Equinox parked in the 3100 block of Chihuahua Street.
Reports state the officer recognized Guerra from a lookout given for being wanted out of the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office. The officer approached Guerra and confirmed he had the active warrant. He was taken into custody. Guerra remains in custody at the Zapata Regional Jail. Police impounded the Equinox. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 7282568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
MEXICO
Pope’s visit to focus on immigration By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
REYNOSA, Mexico — The young Salvadoran woman was robbed and forced to dodge kidnappers working for a drug cartel during her four-month odyssey to this border city of belching factories and swirling dust across the Rio Grande from Texas. She hoped to be on the other side long before Pope Francis visits the region next month and delivers what promises to be a highly symbolic homily ad-
dressing immigration. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims will flock to the border to hear him speak, and America’s political class will likely be listening as well. Francis’ Feb. 17 Mass in Ciudad Juarez comes just eight days after the New Hampshire primaries, and three before contests in South Carolina and Nevada. Immigration has been a hot-button campaign issue particularly among Republican hopefuls such as Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, who have taken an increas-
ingly hard line with Trump vowing to deport the more than 11 million immigrants living in the country illegally and Cruz aiming to end birthright citizenship for their U.S.-born children. It is also an issue close to Francis’ heart, and while analysts doubt he will wade too blatantly into the political thicket, his very presence along the border speaking on the issue will turn heads. “Migration is a complicated situation and he’s not
See POPE PAGE 8A
Photo by Rebecca Blackwell | AP
In this Jan. 6, 2016 photo, migrants participate in a Three Kings Day Mass at the Casa del Migrante shelter run by Catholic nuns in Reynosa, Mexico.