Tornillo property owner to kick loteros out of his property; many are not paying for parking, he says

Farmers and homeowners say the County of El Paso’s actions appear to have solved the problem of used cars lining their roads, but now it appears the owner of a private property regrets taking on some of the burden.

For weeks, farmers and residents near the international crossing have been dealing with thousands of cars waiting to be exported into Mexico. New regulations in Mexico mean that only dozens of cars are allowed into the country on a daily basis, resulting in a backlog of thousands of vehicles on the American side of the border.

The cars were parked along roads leading up to the port of entry, resulting in County Commissioners voting to install “no parking” signs in the area. The county also ordered the sheriff’s office to tow cars left unattended for more than 48 hours and fine used car owners who did not follow the rules.

Now, the Mexican ‘loteros’ waiting to export their used and junked cars from the U.S. into Mexico are having to find parking space elsewhere. ABC-7 learned some are parking the vehicles in a huge empty lot in Fabens.

“It’s better for my family, a relief to not have so many cars lining the streets in front of our home,” said Ignacio Gamboa, who lives near the Tornillo Port of Entry.

Gamboa told ABC-7 he also allowed some loteros to park their vehicles on his private property near the port of entry in exchange for a $5 per car/per night fee.

“There used to be oil splotches all over the street, but with the cars now in dirt lots things are a whole lot cleaner,” Gamboa said. “This street used to be one of the calmest, but when the export cars showed up it was a bother with all the extra people and police in the area.”

It appears Gamboa’s venture into parking lot business will be short-lived. He said he will soon ask the loteros to leave because collecting the fee he imposed has become a hassle.

“Now we can’t find place to park our own cars,” Gamboa said.