DACA Recipient Sentenced 97 Months for Texas Firearm Smuggling to Mexico

Mario Elier Leal, a 22-year-old Mexican national living in the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison for leading a straw purchasing scheme that supplied firearms to Mexican cartels. Leal recruited others to illegally purchase AK-47-type rifles in South Texas, which were then smuggled into Mexico, with at least 13 weapons involved in the scheme. He paid $300 to individuals who could legally buy firearms on his behalf, circumventing U.S. laws that prohibit him from owning guns due to his DACA status. Leal’s accomplices, including Rodolfo Benitez-Garza and Jesus Cristo Lopez, also pleaded guilty, with Benitez-Garza receiving an 18-month sentence plus supervised release. Authorities intercepted an attempted purchase of three AK-47 rifles in July 2024, with Leal observed coordinating during the transaction. Upon completing his prison term, Leal will face deportation proceedings.