EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A Juarez man who allegedly took credit for illegally bringing at least 20 groups of migrants over the border wall is due to appear in federal court in El Paso on Wednesday.
In addition to migrant smuggling charges leveled at him last January, Alexis Maldonado Muñoz, aka “Tarzan,” also is facing a far more serious charge of plotting to murder someone in Mexico. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
A federal grand jury in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas has indicted Maldonado on a charge of conspiracy to kill in a foreign country. The grand jury charged that Maldonado “knowingly and intentionally conspired” to commit murder by “shooting and murdering” in Mexico an individual identified by the initials E.G.R. as authorized by an unnamed conspirator in the United States.
Further details of the alleged conspiracy that brewed between Dec. 28, 2023, and Jan. 3, 2024, are not available because a judge has sealed most records. That’s a common practice when other alleged conspirators remain under investigation.
Maldonado still faces the previous, Feb. 7 indictment on charges of conspiring to transport aliens and bringing aliens into the country for financial gain. Those charges carry a maximum penalty of fines and imprisonment for no more than 10 years.
Records show Maldonado is set to appear before U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone for a status hearing in connection with both indictments on Wednesday.
U.S. authorities first encountered Maldonado when Border Patrol agents east of the Ysleta port of entry watched seven individuals come over the border wall. The group ran toward a nearby overpass but were apprehended by border agents.
Records show Maldonado consented to a lengthy interview with federal investigators. He allegedly stated he was a “foot guide,” getting paid by a smuggling organization in Mexico 4,000 pesos ($232) per individual he successfully gets over the border wall and takes to a waiting driver.
Court records show he told investigators he has smuggled unauthorized migrants into the U.S. from Mexico at least 20 times, with each group consisting of five to six migrants.
Maldonado was arrested around the same time that sources told NewsNation the U.S. Border Patrol had detained a La Linea “foot guide” responsible for facilitating more than 40 illegal entries. It has never been confirmed the two could be the same person.