A man has pleaded guilty in Tucson federal court to smuggling guns into Mexico, authorities say.
Jesus Angel Vasquez Balganon, 33, of Mexico, pleaded guilty March 14, in a federal smuggling and money money laundering case.
Vasquez Balganon was arrested in April 2021 at the Nogales border crossing after several high-capacity magazines were found hidden in his car as he was driving into Mexico, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release.
Vasquez Balganon told authorities he knew taking the magazines into Mexico was prohibited, but that he was expecting to be paid $100 to do so, the release said.
Prior to his arrest, Vasquez Balganon smuggled — or tried to — 67 firearms. That included a machine gun, an AK-103 style firearm, 20,000 rounds of ammunition and ammunition links and 208 magazines. Some of the firearms were recovered in Mexico, the release said.
Vasquez Balganon also admitted that from February of 2019 to March of 2021, he transferred $20,680 from a U.S. bank to one in Mexico to be used to smuggle firearms and weapons components, ammunition, and accessories, the release said.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 23 by U.S. District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps.
