After confirming The Star’s previous reporting, the ABC News report revealed that Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, who the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed was the owner of the 2001 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Abrego Garcia in 2022, recently spoke to a DOJ lawyer regarding the stop after being offered immunity.
Hernandez Reyes was previously arrested in 2019 and convicted of human trafficking in 2020. At that point, he was sentenced to 18 months behind bars, then deported and ordered not to return for three years.
According to the Tuesday report, Hernandez Reyes violated the terms of his sentence and illegally reentered the United States sometime later, allowing DOJ attorneys to interview Hernandez Reyes at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Talladega, Alabama.
The outlet, citing sources familiar with the interview, reported that Hernandez Reyes “recently spoke” with attorneys who asked questions about his connections to Abrego Garcia.
Hernandez Reyes reportedly told the DOJ officials that he met Abrego Garcia in 2015, just three years after the latter man reportedly admitted to illegally entering the United States.
After they met in 2015, the prisoner reportedly admitted to DOJ officials that he paid Abrego Garcia to transport illegal immigrants from Texas to various destinations throughout the United States.
All the very best people assured me he was an innocent migrant just looking for a better life and with no connection to the cartels or trafficking.