Valley couple who smuggled exotic animals sentenced to prison, probation

A Rio Grande Valley couple who were arrested late last year for smuggling exotic animals have been sentenced, court records show.

Mexican national Rafael Gutierrez-Galvan and his wife, United States citizen Deyanira Garza, who were born in 1994 and 1995, respectively, were sentenced on Thursday for unlawful transportation and sale of wildlife and possession of prohibited wildlife.

Garza was sentenced to two years probation and 50 hours of community service while her husband, Gutierrez-Galvan will be heading to prison for 9 months.

The couple was indicted last October after selling a jaguar cub and a margay to an undercover federal agent, according to the indictment.

The indictment also revealed that the couple also either bought, sold or were in possession of a spider monkey.

According to federal prosecutors, from Aug. 16, 2023 to on or about Sept. 26, 2023 the couple knowingly imported and sold a spider monkey, margay and jaguar into the U.S.

The criminal complaint stated that Gutierrez-Galvan delivered two endangered species to an undercover Homeland Security Investigations special agent on two separate occasions in 2023.

The margay was sold on Aug. 24, 2023 in exchange for $7,500, the complaint said.

It was the transaction done on Sept. 26, 2023 where federal agents approached Gutierrez-Galvan who told them that he was only there to sell a cat, chiefly the jaguar cub.

As this was transpiring, a separate group of agents, who were conducting surveillance at the couple’s residence, observed Garza carrying a case and entering a vehicle.

“An Alamo police officer conducted a traffic stop for failure to signal on the vehicle and identified the driver as Deyanira Garza, Gutierrez-Galvan’s wife,” the complaint said. “During the traffic stop, Garza stated there was money in the case.”

In addition, the indictment revealed that authorities seized up to $79,600 from the couple.

Once they were transported to HSI McAllen, they were interviewed by authorities where Gutierrez-Galvan admitted he was self-employed and buys and sells animals, while Garza admitted she acts as a translator for him

During her interview, Garza implicated her husband by admitting he buys and sells animals that include margays, parrots and other animals.

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