‘Good Luck to You in Mexico’: Matamoros Man Who Allegedly Said a Stolen Jeep Was for ‘the Gulf Cartel’ Gets 2 Years in McAllen, Texas — on a Gun Charge
A 20-year-old man from Matamoros, Mexico, who allegedly told investigators he planned to sell a stolen Jeep Gladiator to “the Gulf Cartel,” was sentenced on Oct. 13, 2026, to two years in federal prison in McAllen, Texas, Border Report and ValleyCentral reported. Angel David Salas Herrera was not sentenced for car theft or any cartel crime. Under a plea deal, prosecutors dropped a charge of attempting to export a stolen car, and he pleaded guilty to being a non-citizen in possession of a firearm.
A chase in Brownsville, a key-fob programmer and a stolen pistol
According to the plea agreement, as reported by Border Report, the case began on May 2, 2025, when a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper tried to stop a stolen Jeep Gladiator. Salas was a passenger. The driver refused to pull over, and the trooper struck the Jeep with his patrol car to force it to stop in Brownsville. KRGV, citing the federal complaint on May 5, 2025, reported that the chase ended when the Jeep crashed near a home in Brownsville, that the driver was an unidentified minor, and that the Jeep had been reported stolen from Edinburg.
Troopers found a stolen pistol in the Jeep and a device that could reprogram car key fobs, Border Report said. After his arrest, Salas allegedly said he planned to sell the Jeep to the Gulf Cartel and told investigators where two more stolen vehicles were, according to the complaint. KRGV reported the complaint said those vehicles were also meant to be taken into Mexico. That cartel claim comes from the complaint; it was not part of the charge he admitted.
‘I would just like to apologize’
Salas, whom Border Report described as a Mexican citizen without permission to live or work in the U.S., was held without bond and took the plea deal in July 2026. Sentencing guidelines suggested 24 to 30 months. Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane chose 24 months after Salas told the court, “Well, I would just like to apologize.” Crane closed the hearing with: “Good luck to you in Mexico, Mr. Salas.”
The case adds to reporting on U.S. vehicles moving south to criminal groups. For background, see our Gulf Cartel profile and our Matamoros–Brownsville guide.
Sources
- Border Report / ValleyCentral (Dave Hendricks): “Man sentenced to 2 years in Gulf cartel car theft case” (Oct. 13, 2026)
- ValleyCentral: same report (Oct. 13, 2026)
- KRGV: “Mexican national admits to attempting to export stolen vehicle to Gulf Cartel, records show” (May 5, 2025)
- Photos: Judge Randy Crane portrait by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Wikimedia Commons, public domain; Brownsville port of entry by Wbaron, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Reported Oct. 13, 2026, from Border Report/ValleyCentral’s sentencing report and KRGV’s 2025 report on the criminal complaint. Neither names the Jeep’s driver or says whether anyone else was charged, and no statement from Salas’s lawyer was reported. The Gulf Cartel link is an allegation from the complaint, not a court finding.