ICE Rio Grande Valley, federal partners investigation results in 4 Mexican fishermen indicted for illegal red snapper harvesting in US waters

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — A South Texas grand jury indicted a crew of four men from Matamoros, Mexico, for unlawfully transporting fish taken from the Gulf of America, following an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Coast Guard and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Miguel Angel Ramirez-Vidal, 32; Jesus David Luna-Marquez, 20; Jesus Roberto Morales-Amador, 27; and Jose Daniel Santiago-Mendoza, 22, arrested following the filing of a criminal complaint and are scheduled to appear for arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Betancourt at 1:45 p.m., May 22.

According to court documents, on April 17, the crew of four allegedly attempted to transport and export roughly 315 kilograms of red snapper illegally taken from U.S. waters. The charges allege they intended to sell the fish in Mexico. The criminal complaint alleges authorities observed the crew’s panga-style fishing vessel in the Gulf of America, seven miles north of the U.S.-Mexico maritime boundary line and 21 miles east of South Padre Island.

The crew was allegedly fishing with approximately four kilometers of heavy nylon fishing line and 1,200 fishing hooks. The complaint further alleges they were in an unmarked and unregistered vessel which was not flying the flag of any nation and operating without running lights. The charges allege none of the crew had a permit to fish in U.S. waters nor had a quota for red snapper, which violates federal law.

If convicted, they face up to five years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. This is the first illegal fishing case to be prosecuted in the Southern District of Texas.  

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Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.gov)