Alleged smuggler says he turned down job with Gulf Cartel

McALLEN — A drug chase through Rio Grande City led authorities to a man who claimed to be well-connected and have turned down an offer to join the Gulf Cartel.

Rio Grande City police arrested 31-year-old Jesus Marroquin Lucio on Thursday evening after trying to pull him over for a seatbelt violation, which led to a high-speed chase that resulted in two different crashes, court records released Friday show. After the chase, authorities recovered 30 bundles of marijuana with an approximate weight of 956 pounds.

The crashes resulted in four people getting transported to a local hospital as a result of their injuries. Marroquin was also taken to a hospital but was later released to authorities.

Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated and charged Marroquin with possession with intent to distribute 956 pounds of marijuana and conspiracy to posses with intent to distribute the drug.

During the investigation, Marroquin told the agents that he had been hired by an acquaintance identified only as “Edgar” to drive a load from Rio Grande City to McAllen.

For the operation, Marroquin picked up a truck from Edgar and then got a call from a man in Camargo, named Juan Mendoza, who told him to take the truck to a store in Escobares, according to court records. Mendoza left with the truck and came back 20 minutes later with the drugs already stashed in the vehicle. Marroquin was told to take the vehicle to McAllen and call Edgar for instructions, after which he would be paid $1,000.

During his interview with ICE agents, Marroquin said that he had many connections in Mexico and had even been offered a job with the Gulf Cartel in Reynosa, where he would be paid $1,000 a week and be issued a machine gun and an armband bearing the logo of “CDG” — for “Cartel Del Golfo.”

Marroquin told authorities he didn’t take the job because he didn’t like being told what to do. He remained in custody of U.S. Marshals pending a detention hearing next week.

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Ildefonso Ortiz covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at iortiz@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4437.

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