16 Marines arrested at Camp Pendleton on human smuggling and drug charges

(Image credit: Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images)

published 25 July 2019

On Thursday morning, 16 U.S. Marines were arrested at Camp Pendleton in Southern California, with their alleged crimes involving drugs and human smuggling.

An official told CNN several of the arrests were related to an incident that took place earlier this month, involving two lance corporals and three Mexican citizens. Border Patrol pulled their car over about 20 miles east of the Tecate port of entry, and officers learned from the Mexican citizens that they had agreed to pay thousands of dollars to gain entry to the U.S. The Marines, Byron Law II and David Salazar-Quintero, have been charged with transporting undocumented migrants for financial gain.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox