Smuggling suspects to appear before federal judge Friday

BROWNSVILLE — Two Willacy County immigration detention center sergeants accused in transporting illegal immigrants will appear in federal court Friday.

Juan Treviño, 27, and Albert Vasquez, 37, both of Harlingen, are scheduled for hearings at 8:30 a.m. Friday in U.S. District Court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Herrera said Wednesday.

Two other detention officers charged in the case, Carlos Miguel Garcia, 36, and Benjamin Lopez Sanchez, 36, both of Raymondville, will appear in federal court in Corpus Christi at the same time Friday, Herrera said.

Treviño and Vasquez were arrested Sunday at their homes in Harlingen and the Raymondville pair were arrested last week.

The four, all employees of Utah-based Management Training Corp., are accused of involvement in transporting 28 illegal immigrants from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, federal officials said.

Garcia and Sanchez attempted to smuggle the 28 in a MTC company van and told authorities that they were prisoners from the detention center en route to San Antonio, federal officials said. Officials said the 28 were picked up at locations around Harlingen.

The four are accused of harboring and smuggling illegal immigrants in criminal information documents, but have not been indicted because their cases have not yet been presented to a grand jury, Herrera said.