US Army soldier Axel Cabrera arrested; Fort Carson, Colorado man booked into El Paso County Jail

Axel Cabrera, 22, of Fort Carson, Colorado, United States is a U.S. Army soldier. He has no criminal history.

On March 12, 2023, at least 1,000 migrants rushed the Paso Del Norte bridge linking Mexico to the U.S. in El Paso, Texas, USA to gain access into the U.S. In May 2023, Cabrera was deployed to the border in El Paso under military orders for the border crisis.

While in El Paso, Cabrera allegedly communicated online with who he believed as a girl aged 15. Unbeknownst to the U.S. Army soldier, he was communicating with an undercover agent.

During the conversations, Cabrera mentioned that he was in the U.S. Army and was only going to be in El Paso for a little while. Eventually, he discussed plans to meet the purported teenager at a restaurant near an extended-stay hotel and have sex with her in his room at the hotel.

In the second week of June 2023, the Texas Department of Public Safety followed Cabrera as he left the hotel and went to a gas station where he bought condoms and gummy bears. He went back to the hotel and received a message from the purported teenager saying she was at the restaurant near the hotel.

While Cabrera was on his way to the restaurant, he was arrested by the Texas Department of Public Safety. He was booked into the El Paso County Jail in El Paso.

Bond for Cabrera was set at $40,000. On June 10, 2023, he attended his bond hearing where Magistrate Judge Tony Aun split the bond amount, making it $25,000 personal recognizance, which only requires a signature, and $15,000 cash or corporate surety.

Cabrera was charged with online solicitation of a minor. He is represented by public defense lawyer Simon Lu.