A San Antonio man was sentenced to federal prison after authorities said he attempted to smuggle multiple firearms and ammunition into Mexico, the latest in a string of weapons busts at the Texas border.
Federal prosecutors said Ivan Alexys Oseguera Vara, 21, was sentenced on December 22 to 30 months in prison for attempting to export firearms without a license, followed by two years of supervised release, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. He was also ordered to pay a $2,100 fine.
Vara pleaded guilty on August 19. At sentencing, the court heard additional evidence indicating that Vara had previously purchased seven firearms in his own name, but that their current whereabouts are unknown, prosecutors said.
In imposing the sentence, the court stated that smuggling firearms into Mexico “is not a victimless crime,” according to the release.
Authorities said the case stems from a June 3 encounter at the Colombia Solidarity International Bridge near Laredo. Prosecutors alleged that Vara drove a gray Honda Civic from San Antonio toward Mexico and told border officials he did not have any firearms, ammunition, or large amounts of cash. During a secondary inspection, law enforcement officers allegedly discovered bundles wrapped in plastic and concealed in the vehicle’s rear bumper, undercarriage, and center console. A K-9 unit also alerted to the vehicle, officials said.
Investigators claimed they ultimately found six firearms, three rifles and three pistols, along with eight magazines and 59 rounds of ammunition hidden inside the car. According to prosecutors, none of the weapons were registered to Vara, and one handgun had been reported stolen.
Vara has remained in custody and will be transferred to a federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined, the release stated. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation with assistance from Customs and Border Protection, and the case was prosecuted by an assistant U.S. attorney.
The sentencing comes amid heightened scrutiny of gun smuggling along the Texas-Mexico border.
In a separate case earlier this year, federal authorities arrested an Alabama father and son in Texas after allegedly intercepting more than 300 firearms bound for Mexico, according to a previous report by The Dallas Express. That case involved vehicles with false compartments and was described by officials as part of broader efforts to disrupt cartel supply chains.
