Kansas Man Charged with Smuggling Firearms into Mexico

DEL RIO, Texas – A federal grand jury in Del Rio returned an indictment last week charging a Kansas man with smuggling firearms, ammunition and other firearm accessories from the United States into Mexico.

According to court documents, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers conducting outbound inspections at the Eagle Pass Camino Real Bridge II on Dec. 16, 2022, searched a pickup and utility trailer operated by Jose Guadalupe Martinez-Ortiz, 28, of Garden City, Kansas.  CBP officers found three handguns, four magazines, three gun scopes, and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Martinez-Ortiz appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Victor R. Garcia of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on Dec. 19, 2022.

The one-count indictment charges Martinez-Ortiz with smuggling goods from the United States. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas and Acting Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee of the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Antonio Division made the announcement.

HSI and CBP are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Brown is prosecuting it.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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