6 charged for deadly human smuggling operation in Texas, face life in prison
Authorities arrested three more suspects in connection with a botched human smuggling operation that resulted in the July death of an illegal immigrant from Guatemala after the man was forced to hide in the brush.
A total of six people are now in custody for human smuggling conspiracy, and if convicted, the defendants face up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced the charges against the three additional suspects on Monday. The smuggling ring members — Mexican national David Alejandro Gómez Flores, 28; and Laredo, Texas, residents Dagoberto Mizzael Flores, 24; and Angel Misael Elias, 22 — appeared in court that day.
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Authorities previously arrested three other smugglers — Edy Ronaldo Lima Flores, 36, a Guatemalan national; and Mexican nationals Cynthia Gabriala Muniz Carreor, 29; and Martha Angelica Limon Parra, 9. All six suspects are charged with conspiracy to smuggle an undocumented alien, placing life in jeopardy, causing serious bodily injury and resulting in death and two substantive counts.
Prosecutors allege that the defendants participated in a smuggling operation on July 2. Authorities received a report about illegal aliens loading into a van near a ranch in Laredo with the occupants of the vehicle fleeing into the brush after law enforcement began pursuit.
In addition to apprehending a female illegal alien from Guatemala, authorities discovered the dead body of another Guatemalan national, according to the report. An investigation revealed the deceased male’s undocumented status and that he was part of the July 2 bailout.
According to records recovered from a cell phone found on the victim, Lima Flores and Carreon were allegedly in communication with the man before his death. Ledgers and communications also linked Parra to the bailout, with the communications going back to April. In those communications, Parra reportedly referenced other human smuggling events.
The arrests highlight the issue of smugglers funneling migrants across the U.S. southern border, which sometimes results in kidnapping and extortion. Many smuggling operations are carried out by large transnational criminal organizations.
Sens. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., introduced the bipartisan Border Smuggling Crackdown Act earlier this month. The bill would update sentencing guidelines to ensure penalties reflect the number of people smuggled, injured or murdered.
The senators noted that the U.S. Department of Justice reported that the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines for those convicted of human smuggling fails to fully address the issue, which makes it challenging to prosecute smugglers.
“Criminals and human traffickers who exploit and smuggle human beings across our Southern Border must pay a heavy price. They threaten our national security and exploit victims of trafficking,” Sen. Ossoff said in a statement. “I’m introducing the Border Smuggling Crackdown Act with Senator Blackburn to empower Federal law enforcement in their fight against human trafficking at our Southern Border.”
According to data reported by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, 4,731 individuals were sentenced for smuggling illegal aliens into the country for the fiscal year 2023. In comparison, 4,056 individuals were sentenced for alien smuggling in 2022, and 3,551 were sentenced for the same in 2021.
Blackburn noted that cartels at the southern border are “trafficking and exploiting innocent men, women, and children every day.”
“Our bill would modernize federal sentencing law to better hold these human smugglers to account and ensure that sentencing for these crimes reflects every single person these criminals injure or murder,” Blackburn said in a statement.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
