A member of the Texas National Guard was convicted of smuggling illegal aliens into the U.S. while deployed to the southern border under Operation Lone Star and now awaits his sentencing.
Twenty-seven-year-old Mario Sandoval was charged with “conspiring to smuggle illegal aliens” on July 21. After he was released from his orders following deployment with the Texas National Guard to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, he began his human smuggling operation in July 2024 in the Rio Grande valley.
