A routine outbound inspection at the Eagle Pass port of entry turned into a federal gun bust in mid-December when officers say they uncovered a dozen handguns hidden throughout a family minivan. According to authorities, the pistols were tucked into the dashboard, stashed behind the radio and concealed in the vehicle's roof, and the stop quickly led to federal firearms trafficking charges and an initial court appearance in Del Rio.
According to KTSM, the driver was identified as Cristian Jimenez Gonzalez and the passenger and registered owner of the minivan as Diana Gonzalez Donlucas. Court documents cited in that report state that Donlucas told investigators Jimenez bought the pistols at a gun show in Mesquite and that she cooperated with authorities, while Jimenez chose not to speak with them. The couple made their first federal court appearance on Dec. 18 in Del Rio, where filings show a judge ordered both held without bond and set a detention hearing for Dec. 23.
The San Antonio Express-News reported that Customs and Border Protection, working alongside the Eagle Pass Police Department's ATF task force and other federal partners, ultimately recovered 12 pistols and 23 magazines during the inspection. Eagle Pass police told the paper the seizure highlights their ongoing effort to disrupt illegal firearms trafficking along the border and stressed that the investigation remains active.
ATF Tracing Links Pistols To Massive 2023 Mexico Seizure
Investigators told KTSM that ATF agents spent roughly two years tracing the seized pistols back to an August 2023 case in Mexico, where Mexican authorities reportedly recovered 214 loaded guns and 421 magazines. According to that reporting, many of the weapons confiscated in Mexico were later sold in the Dallas-Fort Worth area before being moved toward the border.
Next Steps In Federal Court
The case is set to be prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, where, in similar Eagle Pass gun-smuggling prosecutions, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas has noted that defendants can face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of smuggling firearms out of the country. Magistrate judges in Del Rio will decide whether Jimenez and Donlucas remain detained while prosecutors pursue an indictment and investigators continue to develop leads.
Local law enforcement officials say their border enforcement partnerships remain tightly focused on stopping weapons believed to be headed for Mexican criminal groups. The San Antonio Express-News reported that Eagle Pass authorities publicly thanked their partnering agencies for the assist and emphasized that the probe is ongoing.
