# Jury Convicts Three Members of a Cartel-Linked Smuggling Ring in Texas, Including an Enforcer Tied to a Mexico Killing

Breitbart Texas reports the three men were found guilty after a one-day trial of smuggling resulting in death. Their boss's cell moved migrants in at least 1,000 successful runs, prosecutors say.

- Section: [Border & Security](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/border-security/)
- Published: 2026-10-25
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/jury-convicts-three-cartel-linked-smugglers-texas-santoyo-guzman-cartel-del-noreste/

A federal jury in Texas has convicted three members of a cartel-connected human smuggling organization, Breitbart Texas reports.

The verdict. Israel Ramirez Perez, Ricardo Rojas Vasquez and David Christopher Ewell were found guilty after a one-day trial on multiple counts, including human smuggling resulting in death and conspiracy to commit it. The charges carry a maximum of life in prison. The men remain in custody awaiting sentencing.

The organization. Breitbart says the three worked under Alejandro Santoyo Guzman, who is linked to the Cartel del Noreste faction of Los Zetas, a group the U.S. has designated a foreign terrorist organization. Court documents from Santoyo Guzman's own case say his cell was responsible for at least 1,000 successful smuggling attempts and 300 failed ones. Santoyo Guzman pleaded guilty earlier this year and is expected to be sentenced in December.

How it worked. Prosecutors say drivers picked up migrants after they crossed the border and moved them to agreed cities in Texas, Oklahoma and elsewhere. Some trips turned deadly when drivers fled police and crashed. After Santoyo Guzman was arrested in Oklahoma, the cell kept running under his indirect supervision. Ewell is believed to have been a coordinator and negotiator.

Extortion and violence. Once migrants arrived, the group allegedly extorted them with threats against them or their families. In a Houston barbershop, two migrants argued over fees and Rojas Vasquez pulled a handgun and fired, Breitbart says, and surveillance video captured it. Ramirez Perez was the enforcer, per the U.S. Attorney's Office, and is tied to several kidnappings, hostage takings and murders on both sides of the border. In one Mexico case he allegedly shot a man, tried to dissolve the body in acid, then set a car on fire with it and filmed the blaze as proof for his bosses.

Note for readers: the account of the Mexico killing and the Houston shooting comes from prosecutors as relayed by Breitbart. We did not read the court record.

## Source

Original reporting: [Breitbart Texas](https://www.breitbart.com/border/2026/10/22/human-smuggler-convicted-of-shooting-and-setting-fire-to-victim-near-texas-border/)