Latest news with #Jasso
USA Today
02-07-2025
- USA Today
700 pounds of meth found in cucumbers. Feds say smugglers use fruits, veggies as cover.
Federal agents found the shipment of drugs among a cargo load of cucumbers. The seizure is the latest instance of traffickers using fresh fruits and vegetables to move drugs. Cucumber. Jalapeño. Cheese. Onion. Avocado. It sounds like a delicious spicy salad. But they're actually the ingredients of drug smuggling. Federal prosecutors say an arrest in Georgia of men charged with trying to ship 700 pounds of meth inside a tractor-trailer packed with cucumbers is the latest case of accused smugglers cooking up a scheme to hide their illegal main course. Andres Jasso Jr., 37, and Rufino Pineda-Perez, 59, were arrested in Gainesville, Georgia, after federal agents discovered they were hiding thousands of packages of drugs among 20 pallet boxes containing cucumbers, federal officials announced July 2. 'Thanks to the diligent work of our federal and state law enforcement partners, a tremendous amount of meticulously concealed methamphetamine was located, was seized, and will never hit the street,' said Theodore S. Hertzberg, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. 'Our office will aggressively prosecute criminals who attempt to use North Georgia as a distribution hub for their deadly poisons.' Cukes are one of just many fresh vegetables smugglers use to move hundreds of pounds of drugs, according to a review of cases by USA TODAY. Law enforcement has uncovered everything from cocaine hidden among bananas to heroin stashed among pungent shipments of garlic and onions. Experts say smugglers see hiding drugs amid fresh fruits and vegetables as one of the best ways to slip past customs agents. 'It's very common to smuggle drugs by concealing them in produce shipments,' said Mike LaSusa, a deputy director at InSight Crime, a think tank focused on drug cartels. 'Because produce spoils quickly and damages easily, customs and law enforcement have to inspect it both quickly and carefully, which makes it hard to do a thorough job.' The federal case in Georgia Videos of the bust shared by the Drug Enforcement Administration show a neatly packaged operation. The tractor-trailer is full of plastic-wrapped cardboard boxes containing loads of cucumbers. But in breaking apart the boxes, federal agents reveal four packets of drugs are hidden within the folded cardboard, videos show. Jasso and Pineda-Perez were discovered at the scene in a Kia Optima sedan parked next to the tractor trailer, federal court documents say. Their role in the operation was to unload the pallet boxes and remove the drugs from among the cucumbers, court papers say. Someone else was supposed to then pick up the hundreds of pounds of drugs, according to court papers. Pineda-Perez is a Mexican national with no legal status in the U.S., officials say. According to the Department of Justice, he was previously deported in 2001 for transporting marijuana and was deported a second time after being sentenced in 2015 to over six years in prison for transporting cocaine. Jasso is from Brookhaven, Georgia, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Why are fruits and veggies so popular — among traffickers Research by drug trafficking experts shows fresh fruit and vegetables are a smuggler's dish of choice for several reasons. Fresh produce is chosen because so much of it is moving between ports that authorities can't properly inspect it all, an analysis from 2019 by InSight Crime shows. Produce also spoils so quickly that customs officials are incentivized to perform their inspections quickly, analysis shows. Finally, produce is so cheap that the profits from the drugs compared to the loss of the produce are especially high, according to InSight. An entire shipment of bananas costs about 60% of the cost of a kilogram of cocaine, according to the 2019 analysis. InSight found that smuggling drugs amid produce shipments had become so common that some authorities began instead to go after fruit shipping companies suspected of being fronts for drug traffickers. Smuggling recipe substitutions News reports and analysis show that smugglers chose a range of fruits and vegetables to move drugs. Police in 2024 found 1.7 tons of cocaine hidden among a shipment of avocados in Colombia, according to reporting by ABC News. The drugs were bound for Portugal. Authorities in the Dominican Republic last December performed what was then the biggest drug bust in the country's history when they discovered 9.5 tons of cocaine in a shipment of bananas, the Guardian reported. The drugs were also bound for Europe. Heroin, marijuana, meth and cocaine have also been found among shipments of celery, cheese, jalapeño, and ginger. Authorities at the U.S.-Mexico border discovered 18 pounds of cocaine hidden within four cheese wheels after performing X-ray scans of the dairy product. The cheese smuggling method, according to Food & Wine, is more common in Italy where authorities have found hundreds of pounds of cocaine in everything from wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to Grana Padano.
Business Wire
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Floor & Decor Announces Grand Opening of San Antonio, Texas Store
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Floor & Decor (NYSE: FND), the leading high-growth retailer specializing in hard-surface flooring for homeowners and professionals, has announced the grand opening of its newest warehouse location in Texas, at 7607 IH 35, Suite #105 in San Antonio. The warehouse store and design center has opened with a team of approximately 45 full-time and part-time associates, and is led by Marco Jasso, the store's Chief Executive Merchant. Floor & Decor operates more than 250 warehouse-format stores and five design studios across 38 states and offers a broad assortment of in-stock hard-surface flooring, including tile, wood, laminate, vinyl, and natural stone, along with decorative accessories and wall tile, installation materials, and adjacent categories at everyday low prices. "Floor & Decor is excited to open its doors in San Antonio," said Jasso. "For over two decades, we've been helping homeowners and professionals reimagine their spaces, and this new location allows us to continue that mission in the community. We can't wait to meet our new San Antonio neighbors and offer them the inspiration and tools to make their renovation dreams a reality." In celebration of the grand opening, Floor & Decor is hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, May 22, at 10:00 am CT with the Greater San Antonio Chamber. Calling All Flooring & Home PROs Floor & Decor provides a comprehensive suite of services, and a rewards program tailored for professionals in the construction, renovation, and flooring industries through its PRO Services and PRO Premier Rewards Program. On Thursday, June 5, from 5:00pm-8:00pm CT, Floor & Decor invites all PROs in the San Antonio area to an exclusive PRO Industry Networking Event, for a chance to win $10,000, and other great prizes like an iPad, Floor & Decor gift cards, YETI Cooler and much more. PROs can visit to RSVP and register to win. During the event, visitors will get to meet the dedicated on-site PRO Services Team, who are there to assist and provide efficient service and support, just for PROs. Visitors will also get to interact with supplier representatives and learn about Floor & Decor's PRO services and industry-leading PRO Premier Rewards program. 'Building relationships with our local professionals is very important to us. Their success is our success,' said Jasso. $5,000 Floor Makeover Sweepstakes In addition, the San Antonio Floor & Decor store will give away a $5,000 Floor Makeover* as part of its grand opening festivities. From May 15, 2025, through July 22, 2025, customers have the chance to register to win these prizes at Super Saturday & Crack the Code Following the grand opening, the San Antonio Floor & Decor store will host a family-friendly Super Saturday* event on Saturday, May 24, from 10:00am to 2:00pm CT, to showcase local vendors and the new store to the San Antonio community. Floor & Decor will partner with other local businesses to promote its new store opening while offering the first 200 customers a chance to win $100,000 from its Crack the Code* game. Customers will have the opportunity to enter a five-digit code of their choice to see if they crack the code and win $100,000. An assortment of bath and body products from Capistrano Soap Company and cupcakes from Cosmic Cakery will be free for the first 200 customers. Store Facts & Features Location: 7607 IH 35, Suite #105, San Antonio, TX 78224 Regular store hours: Monday - Friday 7am-8pm, Saturday 8am-7pm, Sunday 10am-6pm Phone Number: 210-664-4405 For more information on Floor & Decor, please visit or on Instagram at About Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. Floor & Decor is a multi-channel specialty retailer of hard surface flooring and related accessories and seller of commercial surfaces operating 254 warehouse-format stores and five design studios across 38 states as of March 27, 2025. The Company offers a broad in-stock assortment of laminate and vinyl, tile, wood, and natural stone flooring and installation materials and decorative accessories, as well as adjacent categories, at everyday low prices. The Company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. *Must be at least 18 years old to enter the $5,000 Floor Makeover and Crack the Code Sweepstakes.
CNBC
09-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Investors should proceed with caution when buying these corporate bonds, Wells Fargo says
Investors need to be more selective these days when looking at lower-rated investment-grade bonds, according to Wells Fargo Investment Institute. The firm is specifically talking about BBB-rated corporates, which once enjoyed a lot of attention as their credit quality moved closer to that of their A-rated peers. That meant investors were able to pick up higher yields but not necessarily sacrifice much in quality. For the past few years, the BBB-rated assets have had strong interest coverage ratios, which is used to determine companies' ability to pay interest on their outstanding debts. That has now come to an end, said Wells Fargo taxable analyst Eric Jasso in a note Monday. As debt financed at ultra-low interest rates during the pandemic comes due, companies have to refinance at higher rates. Now, investors need to "exercise caution," he said. "BBB-rated corporate credit has seen interest coverage materially below long-term averages across almost every sector," Jasso noted. "This has come despite strong earnings growth in 2024 as the pace at which interest expense has risen [and] has stripped away the healthy cushion seen in interest coverage over the past few years." LQDB YTD mountain iShares BBB Rated Corporate Bond ETF Investment-grade corporate credit is rated AAA through BBB- by Standard & Poor's , while Moody's rates it Aaa through Baa3. As the credit quality goes down, yields rise to compensate investors for risk. The iShares BBB Rated Corporate Bond ETF (LQDB) has a 30-day SEC yield of 5.33%, while the iShares Aaa-A Rated Corporate Bond ETF (QLTA) has a 4.94% 30-day SEC yield. Both have a 0.15% expense ratio. QLTA YTD mountain iShares Aaa - A Rated Corporate Bond ETF Most investment-grade companies have typically been disciplined about maintaining credit quality by reining in generous shareholder reward programs and capital investments when necessary, Jasso said. However, there is a risk some issuers may see longer-term credit pressures as capital intensity increases and profitability decreases — particularly among cyclical industries exposed to the changing trade and regulatory environment, he said. "Given expected macroeconomic headwinds, pressured metrics, and rich valuations among BBB-rated issuers, we recommend investors exercise selectivity when investing in lower-rated investment-grade credit," Jasso said. Those cyclical sectors affected by trade policy uncertainty include automotive, industrials and consumer discretionary, he said. While the valuations may appear cheaper than other investment-grade sectors, investors should be cautious, he said. Jasso favors issuers within the financial, telecommunications and health-care sectors that have healthy balance sheets, a track record of managing past economic cycles, and are relatively insulated from the back and forth on tariffs.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
California-Mexico border, once overwhelmed, now nearly empty
When the humanitarian aid workers decided to dismantle their elaborate tented setup — erected right up against the border wall — they hadn't seen migrants for a month. A year earlier, when historic numbers of migrants were arriving at the border, the American Friends Service Committee, a national Quaker-founded human rights organization, came to their aid. Eventually the group received enough donations to erect three canopies, where it stored food, clothing and medical supplies. But migrant crossings have slowed to a near halt, bringing a striking change to the landscape along the southernmost stretch of California. Shelters that once received migrants have closed, makeshift camps where migrants waited for processing are barren, and nonprofits have begun shifting their services to established immigrants in the U.S. who are facing deportation, or migrants stuck in southern Mexico. Meanwhile, the Border Patrol, with the assistance of 750 U.S. military troops, has reinforced six miles of the border wall with concertina wire. On a recent day at the aid station erected by the Service Committee a few miles west of the San Ysidro border crossing, just one mostly empty canopy remained. Three aid workers wearing blue surgical gloves were packing up boxes labeled 'kids/hydration," "tea and hot coco"and 'small sweater.' There was no need for them now. Border Patrol agents in the San Diego sector are now making about 30 to 40 arrests per day, according to the agency. That's down from more than 1,200 per day during the height of migrant arrivals to the region in April. Adriana Jasso, who coordinates the U.S.-Mexico program for the Service Committee, recalled that hectic time and the group's aid effort. 'This was the first time we took on this level of providing humanitarian aid,' Jasso said. But these days, she said, 'it's the closing of an experience — for now. Because life can be unpredictable.' In May 2023, the Biden administration ended a pandemic-era policy under which migrants were denied the right to seek asylum and were rapidly returned to Mexico. In the leadup to the policy change, migrants descended on the border by the thousands. Two parallel fences make up much of the border barrier near San Diego. Asylum seekers began scaling the fence closest to Mexico and handing themselves over to Border Patrol agents, who would tell them to wait there between both fences for processing. Days often passed before agents returned to the area, known as Whiskey 8. In the meantime, Jasso and her colleagues doled out hot instant soup, fresh fruit and backpacks through the slots in the fence. The last time Jasso saw any migrants there was Feb. 15 — a 20-person group made up mostly of men from India and China. Then a storm came in, dislodging two of the canopies. Jasso and her team took that as a sign to tear the rest of it down. The stench of the contaminated Tijuana River wafted in the morning air as Jasso hauled out a plastic shelving unit from the canopy. Inside the canopy, one of the last remaining items was a stuffed Minnie Mouse, her bubblegum pink shoes shaded gray with dirt. A young girl had handed it to Jasso through the fence. 'Border Patrol refused to let her take it,' Jasso said. 'I promised her I would take care of it and that somebody would love it as she did.' Just as Jasso was packing up at Whiskey 8, Border Patrol held a news conference a few miles away. Parked against the border wall, east of the San Ysidro border crossing, a Border Patrol SUV and a green Humvee served as a backdrop to illustrate the partnership between the departments of Homeland Security and Defense. A gate in the barrier opened and Border Patrol, Marines and Army officials showed reporters how both fences were now sheathed in concertina wire. Loud music could be heard from Tijuana, where construction workers were building an elevated highway right up against the wall separating Mexico from the U.S. Troops created an 'obstacle design' by welding metal rods to the top of the fence, pointing toward Mexico, and attaching more layers of wire over that. Jeffrey Stalnaker, acting chief patrol agent of the San Diego sector, said the additional wire, installed since troops arrived on Jan. 23, has slowed illegal entries. Stalnaker said federal prosecutors in San Diego had also accepted more than 1,000 border-related criminal cases this fiscal year. And following Trump's tariff threats, Mexico vowed to send 10,000 National Guard troops to its northern border. Those troops now meet with U.S. agents a few times a week and conduct synchronous patrols on their respective sides of the border, Stalnaker said. 'What we see behind us here today is the result of a true whole-of-government effort, from the Marines laying down miles of concertina wire along the border infrastructure, to the soldiers manning our scope trucks and remote video surveillance cameras,' he said. Only Border Patrol agents can arrest migrants entering the country illegally, but Stalnaker said that using military personnel to detect migrants has freed agents to spend more time in the field. Last April, San Diego became the top region along the border for migrant arrivals for the first time in decades. Stalnaker said there's been a 70% decrease in migrant arrests so far this fiscal year, compared to the same period last year. 'To say there has been a dramatic change would be an understatement,' he said. But Stalker noted that Border Patrol expects an increase in attempts by migrants to enter California by boat 'as we continue to lock down the border here and secure it.' Farther east, Jacumba Hot Springs was once the site of additional open-air camps, where hundreds of migrants slept on plastic tarps (or in tents, if they were lucky) and huddled around campfires fueled by brush to stay warm. Sam Schultz, a retired international relief worker who has lived near Jacumba for nine years, once made daily deliveries of water, hot meals and blankets to migrants there. When the camps popped up a few miles from his home, he felt compelled to help. The tents that once covered a camp site just off Old Highway 80 are gone. Schultz's son recently hauled them away because they're no longer needed. Schultz still visits three sites a few times a week to check if water left out for migrants needs replenishing. 'The water hasn't been touched,' he said. Legal aid and humanitarian organizations that helped migrants have shifted their operations away from the border. Immigrant Defenders Law Center, headquartered in Los Angeles, served migrants who were bused there from the border by the Texas governor; the group also provided legal help to those waiting in Tijuana for appointments with Customs and Border Protection. After his inauguration, President Trump quickly canceled existing appointments and ended use of a phone application used by the Biden administration to schedule them. Lindsay Toczylowski,the law center's co-founder and CEO, said that since arrests by immigration agents have increased around Los Angeles, the organization has begun to focus on defending recently detained immigrants from deportation. Erika Pinheiro, executive director of Al Otro Lado, said many of those deported to Mexico are being sent farther south, so there aren't as many people stuck in Tijuana. She said the organization has brought staff to Mexico City and to Tapachula, which borders Guatemala. Pinheiro said the San Ysidro-based organization recently scaled up a project supporting non-Spanish-speaking migrants in Mexico — refugees who now cannot seek asylum in the U.S. but also can't safely return to their country of origin. The American Friends Service Committee has also shifted its work to focus on offering 'know your rights' presentations at schools, churches and community centers. But back at Whiskey 8, Jasso said the organization will continue offering direct humanitarian aid to migrants moving forward. She recalled learning about three migrants who died earlier this month in the Otay Mountain wilderness after calling for help during a storm that brought near-freezing temperatures to the harsh terrain. With migrants now unable to seek legal ways of entering the U.S. through the asylum process, advocates anticipate that more will begin to risk their lives by attempting to enter illegally through more remote and dangerous terrain. Some desperate enough might even try to jump over all the newly installed concertina wire. Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
California-Mexico border, once overwhelmed, now nearly empty
SAN YSIDRO, California — When the humanitarian aid workers decided to dismantle their elaborate tented setup — erected right up against the border wall — they hadn't seen migrants for a month. A year earlier, when historic numbers of migrants were arriving at the border, the American Friends Service Committee, a national Quaker-founded human rights organization, came to their aid. Eventually the group received enough donations to erect three canopies, where it stored food, clothing and medical supplies. But migrant crossings have slowed to a near halt, bringing a striking change to the landscape along the southernmost stretch of California. Shelters that once received migrants have closed, makeshift camps where migrants waited for processing are barren, and nonprofits have begun shifting their services to established immigrants in the U.S. who are facing deportation, or migrants stuck in southern Mexico. Meanwhile, the Border Patrol, with the assistance of 750 U.S. military troops, has reinforced six miles of the border wall with concertina wire. On a recent day at the aid station erected by the Service Committee a few miles west of the San Ysidro border crossing, just one mostly empty canopy remained. Three aid workers wearing blue surgical gloves were packing up boxes labeled 'kids/hydration,' 'tea and hot coco'and 'small sweater.' There was no need for them now. Border Patrol agents in the San Diego sector are now making about 30 to 40 arrests per day, according to the agency. That's down from more than 1,200 per day during the height of migrant arrivals to the region in April. Adriana Jasso, who coordinates the U.S.-Mexico program for the Service Committee, recalled that hectic time and the group's aid effort. 'This was the first time we took on this level of providing humanitarian aid,' Jasso said. But these days, she said, 'it's the closing of an experience — for now. Because life can be unpredictable.' In May 2023, the Biden administration ended a pandemic-era policy under which migrants were denied the right to seek asylum and were rapidly returned to Mexico. In the leadup to the policy change, migrants descended on the border by the thousands. Two parallel fences make up much of the border barrier near San Diego. Asylum seekers began scaling the fence closest to Mexico and handing themselves over to Border Patrol agents, who would tell them to wait there between both fences for processing. Days often passed before agents returned to the area, known as Whiskey 8. In the meantime, Jasso and her colleagues doled out hot instant soup, fresh fruit and backpacks through the slots in the fence. The last time Jasso saw any migrants there was Feb. 15 — a 20-person group made up mostly of men from India and China. Then a storm came in, dislodging two of the canopies. Jasso and her team took that as a sign to tear the rest of it down. The stench of the contaminated Tijuana River wafted in the morning air as Jasso hauled out a plastic shelving unit from the canopy. Inside the canopy, one of the last remaining items was a stuffed Minnie Mouse, her bubblegum pink shoes shaded gray with dirt. A young girl had handed it to Jasso through the fence. 'Border Patrol refused to let her take it,' Jasso said. 'I promised her I would take care of it and that somebody would love it as she did.' Just as Jasso was packing up at Whiskey 8, Border Patrol held a news conference a few miles away. Parked against the border wall, east of the San Ysidro border crossing, a Border Patrol SUV and a green Humvee served as a backdrop to illustrate the partnership between the departments of Homeland Security and Defense. A gate in the barrier opened and Border Patrol, Marines and Army officials showed reporters how both fences were now sheathed in concertina wire. Loud music could be heard from Tijuana, where construction workers were building an elevated highway right up against the wall separating Mexico from the U.S. Troops created an 'obstacle design' by welding metal rods to the top of the fence, pointing toward Mexico, and attaching more layers of wire over that. Jeffrey Stalnaker, acting chief patrol agent of the San Diego sector, said the additional wire, installed since troops arrived on Jan. 23, has slowed illegal entries. Stalnaker said federal prosecutors in San Diego had also accepted more than 1,000 border-related criminal cases this fiscal year. And following Trump's tariff threats, Mexico vowed to send 10,000 National Guard troops to its northern border. Those troops now meet with U.S. agents a few times a week and conduct synchronous patrols on their respective sides of the border, Stalnaker said. 'What we see behind us here today is the result of a true whole-of-government effort, from the Marines laying down miles of concertina wire along the border infrastructure, to the soldiers manning our scope trucks and remote video surveillance cameras,' he said. Only Border Patrol agents can arrest migrants entering the country illegally, but Stalnaker said that using military personnel to detect migrants has freed agents to spend more time in the field. Last April, San Diego became the top region along the border for migrant arrivals for the first time in decades. Stalnaker said there's been a 70% decrease in migrant arrests so far this fiscal year, compared to the same period last year. 'To say there has been a dramatic change would be an understatement,' he said. But Stalker noted that Border Patrol expects an increase in attempts by migrants to enter California by boat 'as we continue to lock down the border here and secure it.' Farther east, Jacumba Hot Springs was once the site of additional open-air camps, where hundreds of migrants slept on plastic tarps (or in tents, if they were lucky) and huddled around campfires fueled by brush to stay warm. Sam Schultz, a retired international relief worker who has lived near Jacumba for nine years, once made daily deliveries of water, hot meals and blankets to migrants there. When the camps popped up a few miles from his home, he felt compelled to help. The tents that once covered a camp site just off Old Highway 80 are gone. Schultz's son recently hauled them away because they're no longer needed. Schultz still visits three sites a few times a week to check if water left out for migrants needs replenishing. 'The water hasn't been touched,' he said. Legal aid and humanitarian organizations that helped migrants have shifted their operations away from the border. Immigrant Defenders Law Center, headquartered in Los Angeles, served migrants who were bused there from the border by the Texas governor; the group also provided legal help to those waiting in Tijuana for appointments with Customs and Border Protection. After his inauguration, President Trump quickly canceled existing appointments and ended use of a phone application used by the Biden administration to schedule them. Lindsay Toczylowski,the law center's co-founder and CEO, said that since arrests by immigration agents have increased around Los Angeles, the organization has begun to focus on defending recently detained immigrants from deportation. Erika Pinheiro, executive director of Al Otro Lado, said many of those deported to Mexico are being sent farther south, so there aren't as many people stuck in Tijuana. She said the organization has brought staff to Mexico City and to Tapachula, which borders Guatemala. Pinheiro said the San Ysidro-based organization recently scaled up a project supporting non-Spanish-speaking migrants in Mexico — refugees who now cannot seek asylum in the U.S. but also can't safely return to their country of origin. The American Friends Service Committee has also shifted its work to focus on offering 'know your rights' presentations at schools, churches and community centers. But back at Whiskey 8, Jasso said the organization will continue offering direct humanitarian aid to migrants moving forward. She recalled learning about three migrants who died earlier this month in the Otay Mountain wilderness after calling for help during a storm that brought near-freezing temperatures to the harsh terrain. With migrants now unable to seek legal ways of entering the U.S. through the asylum process, advocates anticipate that more will begin to risk their lives by attempting to enter illegally through more remote and dangerous terrain. Some desperate enough might even try to jump over all the newly installed concertina wire.
