Efrain Pacheco-Ovalles, a 30-year-old from Culiacan, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced to 21 months in prison and three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Angela M. Martinez on January 29, 2026. He pleaded guilty to assaulting a federal officer and conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for commercial advantage or private financial gain.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, Pacheco-Ovalles worked as a scout for a transnational criminal organization (TCO) in January and February 2025. Scouts are key members who help move people and drugs across the border while avoiding law enforcement detection. They use tools like binoculars and radios from mountain tops to monitor smuggling routes and communicate with other members of the organization.
Authorities said that TCOs have long used remote areas such as the Tohono O’odham Indian Nation to smuggle narcotics and people into the United States. Pacheco-Ovalles admitted he expected to work as a scout for three months and be paid $40 for each person who successfully arrived in Phoenix.
On February 4, 2025, U.S. Border Patrol agents attempted to disrupt a scout site at Nine Mile Mountain in the Tohono O’odham Indian Nation. When they found Pacheco-Ovalles hiding under a tree, he ran down the mountain as an agent pursued him while identifying himself in both English and Spanish. During the chase, Pacheco-Ovalles took photos and videos of agents before discarding his binoculars and backpack. When an agent tried to apprehend him, Pacheco-Ovalles intentionally elbowed the agent in the face, causing a black eye.
“This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,” according to information provided by officials. “Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).”
U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine stated: “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will not tolerate assaults on federal agents nor the criminal networks that exploit our southern border,” adding: “In Tucson and across Arizona, law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to stop these networks from smuggling people and drugs into our country. We will protect our agents, secure the border, and hold accountable those who profit from lawlessness.”
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Border Patrol Tucson Sector; prosecution was handled by The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
More details about this case can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
