A cross-border pipeline of stolen vehicles allegedly supplied Mexican cartels with cars and trucks to support their criminal operations, federal authorities say, with 13 people now facing charges in the scheme.The vehicles were stolen from private owners and major rental car companies before being driven through El Paso, Texas, and across the border into Mexico, where they were allegedly used to support the cartels’ daily operations, according to the U.S.Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.Authorities have recovered 29 vehicles worth an estimated $1.14 million as part of the investigation, dubbed Operation Southbound Takedown, prosecutors said.PIRRO WARNS CAR THEFT RING USED NEW TECH TO QUICKLY ACCESS VEHICLES: 'GONE IN 60 SECONDS'Federal and local law enforcement officials announce charges in a stolen vehicle investigation during a press conference in El Paso, Texas, on Oct.
26, 2026.(U.S.
Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas)Ryan G.McRae, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso, said the stolen vehicles reveal a pattern of criminal activity extending beyond auto theft."These are not isolated property crimes," McRae said.
"The stolen vehicles related to Operation Southbound Takedown demonstrate an alarming pattern and are used to support the day-to-day operations of dangerous criminal organizations."Photos released by prosecutors showed a damaged white SUV recovered in Mexico, as well as an armored black SUV and an armored pickup truck.Federal agents and prosecutors began investigating in the spring after identifying a pattern of stolen vehicles being transported to individuals allegedly connected to criminal organizations in Mexico, the U.S.attorney’s office said.NEVADA MAN FUNNELED 140 GUNS TO VIOLENT MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS, INCLUDING POWERFUL 'MILITARY-STYLE' RIFLES: DOJAuthorities released a photo of an armored SUV recovered during an investigation into stolen vehicles allegedly transported from the...