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Sen. Ted Cruz scuttles back to Texas after getting busted on Cancun getaway

Ted in line at Houston airport with police escort.

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In the midst of a historically awful winter weather event in which millions of people across Texas were without power, Texas Senator Ted Cruz was caught trying to make a tropical getaway to Cancun.

Cruz and his family were photographed by fellow travelers at the George Bush Airport in Houston on February 17, as well as onboard United Airlines flight #1020.

"The confirmation is from multiple eye witnesses of @tedcruz and @heidicruz in Cancun," noted journalist David Shuster, while Fox News reported that it was true.

According to the New York Times, not only did Cruz and his family make the flight but a member of Cruz's staff contacted the Houston Police Department personnel at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Wednesday afternoon requesting "assistance upon arrival" — while the city of Houston was gripped by freezing weather.

Cruz's trip caught the attention of Dan Rather, who tweeted "There's an old Texas saying: When the going gets tough, the tough go to Cancun. (No, there actually is no such saying)."

Some wondered whether Cruz's abandoning Texas with 6+ counties declared disaster areas, people freezing, without power, drinking water, burst pipes flooding homes, and dying wasn't cause for a charge of malfeasance.

Cruz was definitely aware of the crisis. On February 16, he tweeted "A blizzard strikes Texas & our state shuts down. Not good."

Cruz criticized Austin Mayor Steve Adler when he went to Cabo in 2020, tweeting that Democrats were "complete and utter hypocrites."

By February 18, Cruz was saying he did it for his kids.

"With school canceled for the week, our girls asked us to take a trip with friends," he said. "Wanting to be a good dad, I flew down with them last night and am flying back this afternoon."

However, the flight showed he was on Standby, and a source at United Airlines said that Cruz was originally scheduled to return on Saturday but rebooked his flight back to Houston on Thursday morning at 6 am.

The skeptical comments responding to a theory that he would claim he planned to fly back the next day are fun:

CinPA @Cinder_Blue2020
Sure. I always fly to Cancun in the middle of the night, then fly right back the next day.

Andrew Smith @andosmith
Yeah when my family goes on vacation without me I always fly there with them to make sure they get there safely, then fly home. Who doesn't?

Jonathan Cornick @jonathancornick
His wife is a Goldman Sachs executive. Surely she’s been on a plane before?

Mass for Shut-ins (Podcast) @edburmila
Sounds extremely plausible to me, a person who was born an hour ago

Rachel Barkow @RachelBarkow
He deliberately flew there up and back to burn extra fossil fuel and dunk on the Green New Deal.

Mrs. Betty Bowers @BettyBowers
"The enormous roller bag was for Mr. Cruz's one pair of fresh underwear and the enormous duffle bag was for his toothbrush."

b-boy bouiebaisse @jbouie
who among us doesn’t immediately blame our kids when we get roasted for a bad decision

"One imagines there will be some reporters waiting for this arrival flight today back in Houston," Shuster tweeted. "Please post photos of Cruz with his tail between his legs. As for Heidi and the kids, enjoy the rest of your Cancun vacation."

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Unhappy holidays

Porch pirates pilfer nearly $2B worth of Texas packages, study shows

Porch Pirate Person in Glasses Steals Packages

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’Tis the season for porch pirates. If past trends are an indicator, the Grinch will swipe close to $2 billion worth of packages delivered to Texas households this year, with many of those thefts happening ahead of the holiday season.

An analysis of FBI and survey data by ecommerce marketing company Omnisend shows porch pirates stole more than $1.8 billion worth of packages from Texans’ porches last year. Porch pirates hit nearly one-third of the state’s households in 2024, according to the analysis.

Omnisend’s analysis reveals these statistics about porch piracy in Texas:

30.1 million residential package thefts in 2024.
An average household loss of $169 per year.
An annual average of 2.9 package thefts per household.

“Most stolen items are cheap on their own, but add them up, and retailers and consumers are facing an enormous bill,” says Omnisend.

Another data analysis, this one from The Action Network sports betting platform, unwraps different figures regarding porch piracy in Texas.

The platform’s 2025 Porch Pirate Index ranks Texas as the state with the highest volume of residential thefts, based on 2023-24 FBI data.

Researchers at The Action Network uncovered 26,293 reports of personal property thefts at Texas residences during that period. The network’s survey data indicates 5 percent of Texas residents had a package stolen in the three months before the pre-holiday survey.

The Porch Pirate Index calculates a 25.8 percent risk of a Texas household being victimized by porch pirates, putting it in the No. 5 spot among states with the highest risk of porch piracy.

The Action Network included online-search volume for terms like “package stolen” and “porch pirates.” Sustained spikes in these searches suggest that “people are actively looking for guidance after something has happened. Search trends serve as an early warning system, revealing emerging-risk areas well before annual crime statistics are released,” the network says.

Tips to avoid being a victim
So, how do you prevent porch pirates from snatching packages that end up on your porch? Omnisend, The Action Network and Amazon offer these eight tips:

Closely monitor deliveries and quickly retrieve packages.
Schedule deliveries for times when you’ll be home.
Use delivery lockers or in-store pickup when possible.
Ask delivery services to hide packages in out-of-sight spots outside your home.
Install a visible doorbell camera or security camera.
Coordinate deliveries with neighbors or building managers if you’ll be away from your home when packages are supposed to arrive.
Request that delivery services hold your packages if you can’t be home when they’re scheduled to come.
Illuminate the path to your doorstep and keep porch lights on.

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