The plot to fly migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts was carried out by a former spy with the US Army’s counterintelligence unit, according to a shocking new report in the New York Times.
Perla Huerta, a 20-year veteran who served as a medic in Iraq and Afghanistan, was named as the woman who carried out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan.
Several migrants told the Times that it was Huerta, 43, who approached them in San Antonio and sold them the idea of boarding a plane bound for the affluent Martha’s Vineyard area.
The state of Florida, led by DeSantis, paid for two migrant flights from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in September.
DeSantis is the youngest GOP governor, frustrated by the federal government’s response to policing the southern border to ship migrants to Democratic cities.
He defended the move as a way to make immigration a “front burner” ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Critics questioned the legality, and his Democratic opponent for governor said it represented a new low level of prudence.
Online records show that Huerta is based in Tampa, Florida. According to the Times, she was sent to Texas to convince migrants to go north.
The state of Florida, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis, paid for two migrant flights from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in September
Several migrants told the New York Times that it was former spy Perla Huerta, 43, who approached them in San Antonio and convinced them to board planes to Martha’s Vineyard
Texas Sheriff Javier Salazar (pictured) of Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, is leading the investigation into how the migrants were rounded up and taken to Martha’s Vineyard
These records indicate that Huerta has relatives living in San Antonio. She is a divorced mother and lived in Niceville, Florida for some time.
A previous New York Magazine report described Perla as wearing “cowboy boots” and with “streaked hair.” She is also described as speaking both Spanish and English.
The plane that flew the Venezuelan asylum seekers to Massachusetts was provided by a charter company that has ties to DeSantis.
In conversations with migrants, the former spy only referred to herself as “Perla”.
Huerta’s activities, as well as the entire operation, are under investigation by the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office in Texas.
In September, Sheriff Javier Salazar told the media: “Our understanding is that a Venezuelan migrant was paid a so-called ‘birddog fee’ to recruit approximately 50 migrants from the area around a migrant resource center on San Pedro here in San Antonio. ‘
This Venezuelan migrant confirmed that he worked with Huerta, the Times reports.
Several migrants reportedly took photos of Huerta when she was recruiting them in Texas. So says Rachel Self, a lawyer representing the migrants.
Self said these photos helped identify Huerta by matching them to other online images of the veteran.
At the time of writing, Huerta’s social media pages have been disabled.
The sheriff went on to say that the migrants had been promised jobs and “a solution to several of their problems.”
Back in September, the Washington Post reported that a “smiling blonde woman in a cowboy hat” named Perla approached migrants in San Antonio and promised to help them.
At the time, the Post said Huerta drove a rented SUV and could promise food, jobs and transportation to migrants, many of whom were sleeping on the streets.
The article states that several migrants took pictures of Huerta while she was recruiting them in Texas. So says Rachel Self, a lawyer representing the migrants
While in San Antonio, Perla Huerta drove a rented SUV and was able to promise food, jobs and transportation to the migrants, many of whom slept on the streets
The San Antonio Report said in September that the League of United Latin Americans Citizens offered $5,000 for information on Huerta.
According to the outlet, a 34-year-old Venezuelan migrant said Huerta promised him help to get to a “state of refuge.”
In addition to jobs, migrants said a 7-year-old girl was promised a place at school, while others were promised English lessons and legal counsel.
After a migrant arriving on Martha’s Vineyard texted Huerta asking why they had been sent there when the promised help wasn’t available, she replied, “I’m sorry for the confusion. I saw that they sent you doctors and lawyers.”
He also told the report that Huerta was regularly accompanied by a male Venezuelan migrant he did not know.
The account later named this man Emmanuel. He told the website: “Perla informed me that in these states of refuge the state has the advantage of helping migrants. I was just the facilitator because I like helping people.’
Emmanuel said Perla was not involved in arranging the flights and was only tasked with filling the planes.
A woman named “Perla” was also named in a lawsuit filed Sept. 20 in Massachusetts.
At the time the lawsuit was filed, Huerta was only known by her first name.
The September conspiracy was engineered by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis without the knowledge of his Lone Star State counterpart, the Times said in its report.