Under Operation Lone Star, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers continue to aggressively combat human smuggling across the state. On Friday, a trooper patrolling IH-35 in La Salle County noticed a truck tractor driving on the improved shoulder, prompting a traffic stop. During the stop, it was discovered that the driver, 24-year-old John David Amaya from Laredo, did not possess a valid commercial driver’s license.

The situation escalated after assistance from a Border Patrol K-9 revealed 23 illegal immigrants crammed into the truck’s sleeper cab. The migrants, mostly Nicaraguan nationals, were found in hazardous conditions that posed extreme risks of heat exhaustion and asphyxiation. Amaya was immediately arrested and charged with 23 counts of human smuggling, a state jail felony in Texas that carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years per count.

The incident underscores the dangerous and illegal operations that human smugglers put both migrants and the public at risk. Video footage released by DPS shows the cramped and unsafe conditions, illustrating the severity of the offense. Operation Lone Star remains committed to intercepting smuggling operations through proactive traffic enforcement, intelligence gathering, and close coordination with federal agencies like Border Patrol.

Texas DPS emphasizes zero tolerance for human smuggling, reiterating that arrests like Amaya’s are a critical part of statewide efforts to protect the border and deter criminal activity. This latest interdiction is a clear example of how routine enforcement stops can uncover large-scale criminal activity and save lives by preventing migrants from being exposed to extreme danger.