U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Del Rio (News Release) – U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to Del Rio Sector arrested two convicted child sex offenders in separate events shortly after they illegally entered the United States on November 16th.

While conducting line watch operations, Eagle Pass agents encountered 17 subjects attempting to avoid detection near Eagle Pass, Texas. While at the processing center, record checks revealed that one subject, Carlos Francisco Zelaya-Salinas, 49, a Honduran national, was convicted of attempt to commit indecency with a child exposure, in Houston. Zelaya-Salinas was most recently deported in 2011. 

Eagle Pass South Station agents apprehended Martin Garcia-Lopez, 42, a Mexican national, while he attempted to avoid detection near Eagle Pass, Texas. Record checks revealed Garcia-Lopez has an outstanding warrant for failure to appear and was convicted of lewd or lascivious act with a child, in California, in 2019. He was most recently deported in 2020.

 As convicted felons, they face a charge of 8 USC § 1326 – Re-entry after Deportation, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.