Del Rio, United States - November 29, 2024 A five-year-old girl smuggled across the Rio Grande has been rescued thanks to swift action by a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper. Acting on a tip from a border surveillance camera, the trooper stopped a Ram 1500 in Val Verde County and discovered the child, who matched the description from the footage. The girl, smuggled by a guide from Mexico, was traveling with her mother, Dolores Lopez, a Mexican national temporarily residing in North Carolina. Lopez admitted to paying $8,000 to a smuggling organization she contacted online. The driver, Roman Ibarra Rojo, a permanent resident of Mexico, confessed to his role in the operation, revealing he was to be paid $1,000 for the illegal transport. Rojo was arrested and charged with smuggling a person under 18, while the mother and child were referred to U.S. Border Patrol. DPS confirmed a follow-up investigation is underway, with potential charges against Lopez pending review by the District Attorney’s Office.