Border Patrol agents in south Texas say they arrested 44-year-old Cuban citizen Lazaro Alberto Betancourt-Osorio after finding him hiding near El Indio on June 1. He was picked up with six other people and now faces a federal unlawful reentry charge tied to earlier removals. Officials in the Del Rio Sector say the arrest highlights ongoing enforcement efforts on some of the most isolated stretches of the border.
Background checks show Betancourt-Osorio was convicted in Florida in 2012 of using a computer to seduce, solicit, and lure a child and of traveling to meet a minor, and that he served about 42 months before being removed from the United States, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection records. Those same records indicate he was deported again in 2016 and in 2025 before making his latest return.
“This arrest by Carrizo Springs Station agents highlights the importance of constant vigilance along the immediate border,” Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony “Scott” Good said in a statement, calling Betancourt-Osorio’s prior sexual-offense convictions a serious community threat, according to FOX 26 Houston. Border Patrol officials say operations in the surrounding ranchlands are aimed at finding groups hiding in thick brush and rough terrain.
What the federal charge carries
Federal prosecutors are expected to pursue an unlawful reentry case under 8 U.S.C. § 1326, which lays out tiered penalties based on a defendant’s criminal history. When a prior removal follows an aggravated-felony conviction, the statute allows for a prison sentence of up to 20 years, according to Cornell’s Legal Information Institute.
Local context and precedents
Prosecutors in the Western District of Texas have recently pushed for tough sentences in repeat unlawful reentry cases, including in Del Rio, where some defendants have received the maximum allowed under the statute. One such case, in which a judge handed a Salvadoran child predator 20 years in federal lockup, illustrated how § 1326 can be used when prior convictions meet the law’s threshold.
What’s next
Betancourt-Osorio now faces federal prosecution for unlawful reentry and will move through the federal court process in the Western District of Texas. One account says he has already been arraigned before a magistrate judge there, according to Breitbart. That report reiterates the unlawful reentry charge and the potential 20-year maximum penalty tied to his prior criminal record.
