LAREDO, TX. (KGNS) - A multiple vehicle accident is reported on a Laredo highway Tuesday morning.

The accident happened at around 8:30 a.m. on the southbound lane of I-35 near the 1400 block of Santa Ursula.

Several vehicles were seen stalled on the side of the road and Laredo Fire and Laredo Police were at the scene assisting those involved in the crash.

Drivers are being urged to proceed with caution.

WEBB COUNTY, TX (KGNS) - Authorities seize drugs, cash, and a firearm during an operation in south Laredo.

The Webb County Sheriff’s Office arrested Roberto Carlos Sotelo, 41, and charged him with possession.

The seizure happened last Thursday when investigators executed a search warrant on a home located at the 4400 block of Marla Drive.

During the search, deputies found cocaine, heroin, marijuana, a handgun and over $300 in cash.

Sotelo was taken to the Webb County Jail.

LAREDO, Tx (KGNS) - Four Laredoans enter a guilty plea for their roles in distributing cocaine and laundering money.

Cesar Mendiola, Jose Angel Rodriguez junior, Rafael Rodriguez and Jose Angel Rodriguez III entered their pleas last week at Laredo’s federal court.

Court documents say the men were trying to smuggle several pounds of cocaine and over $100,000 of U.S. currency.

Sentencing for the men is set for Sept. 7.

McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — Jason Owens, who headed the Del Rio Sector of the Border Patrol in South Texas, has been named the new U.S. Border Patrol Chief, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday.

Owens replaces Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz who headed the department for 22 months before announcing his retirement last month.

Owens is a 27-year veteran of law enforcement, who served almost 20 years as an officer with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, according to his LinkedIn account. He has held numerous posts within CBP and has headed the Del Rio Sector since November 2021. He also has been chief patrol agent in charge of the U.S. Border Patrol Academy in Artesia, New Mexico, where agents are trained. He has worked in several border locations, including McAllen; El Paso; Laredo, Texas; Calexico, California, and North Dakota.

“I am proud to welcome Border Patrol Sector Chief Jason Owens as our 26th Chief of the United States Border Patrol. Chief Owens is a talented, selfless, and inspiring leader who is dedicated to the Border Patrol’s law enforcement mission, the men and women who fulfill it, and the country that we all serve. I have worked with Chief Owens; I am inspired by his commitment to the mission, and am grateful to him for his continued service in this new leadership role,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Deputy Commissioner Benjamine “Carry” Huffman also is stepping down and will be replaced by Pete Flores, who will work under CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller.

Ortiz served as the chief patrol agent for the Rio Grande Valley Sector for several years, from 2013 to 2019, at a time when there was an uptick in asylum seekers crossing into South Texas.

On Monday, DHS announced the retirement of Tae Johnson, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“I am grateful to Tae Johnson for his service to ICE, the Department, and the nation. Mr. Johnson has been an integral member of ICE’s leadership team through multiple administrations,” Mayorkas said in a statement.

ARLINGEN, Texas (Border Report) — Five people linked to the Michoacan drug cartel were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for transporting meth into the South Texas border town of Laredo, U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani said.

On Wednesday, U.S District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo issued a 20-year sentence to Gerardo Martinez, 65, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Maria Valdez, 30; Rodrigo Sandoval, 31, Karina Garcia 27, all of Laredo; and Jose Alfredo Cruz-Salas, 37, a Mexican national from Nuevo Laredo, all previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport a total of 75 kilos of meth into the United States from Mexico and were linked to the Michoacan drug cartel.

Valdez was sentenced to 188 months, or 15.5 years in prison; while Sandoval, Garcia and Cruz-Salas received 5 years, 3 years, and 6-year sentences, respectively.

During the hearing, the court heard evidence that Valdez transported meth in a vehicle “while her 5-month-old son was in an improperly-fastened infant car seat,” a statement from the Justice Department said.

During sentencing, Marmolejo admonished the group.

“Martinez was hiding in plain sight, maintaining a front as a taxi driver while secretly doing the bidding of the Michoacan cartel on the streets of Laredo,” Hamdani said in a statement. “My late father was a taxi driver and the actions of Martinez simply offend me. He trafficked in pure meth and recruited multiple drivers. The seized drugs could have ruined countless lives. Today’s sentencings underscore the scope of the threat transnational drug cartels pose and our efforts to combat them.”

Investigators say the group was part of a complex drug ring that operated from February 2017 until September 2018. “Martinez assisted drug traffickers in Mexico by finding and recruiting drivers willing to transport high-purity meth through Laredo and into the United States,” the Justice Department said.