HSI, Salvadoran authorities arrest 3 Central American human smugglers
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Three suspected Central American human smugglers were arrested Tuesday for their involvement in smuggling Salvadoran children and adults into the United States. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents from the HSI Assistant Attaché Office in El Salvador assisted police officers from the Salvadoran National Civil Police, who made the arrests.
Manuel and Juan Diaz-Perdomo and Henrry Lizama-Sanchez, all Salvadoran nationals, allegedly received $9,700 in U.S. currency in June 2014 to smuggle a mother and daughter to New York from El Salvador. Other individuals involved in the scheme also tried to extort additional money from the family upon their arrival in the United States.
During the execution of the arrest warrants, Rufino Gutierrez-Espino, a Nicaraguan national, was also arrested for the alleged sale of his 15-year-old daughter to Manuel Diaz-Perdomo. Gutierrez-Espino faces human trafficking charges.
“Human smugglers have no regard for human life and the rule of law,” said Alvin De La Rosa, HSI assistant attaché to El Salvador. “We’re committed to rooting out these criminal networks that are operating in the region.”
Attorneys with the Salvadoran Attorney General’s office participated in the investigation and are handling the prosecution of the cases.
HSI has 67 offices and eight Department of Defense liaisons in 48 countries around the world, with more than 380 government and contract personnel committed to the agency's mission. The attachés, part of HSI's International Operations, oversee HSI investigations and serve as agency liaisons to local government and law enforcement counterparts in countries across the globe.
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