Human Smuggling/Trafficking

Cesar Abraam Velasquez-Munoz, 20, of Peoria, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit placing in jeopardy the life of any person and resulting in death.

Edgar Sanchez-Solis, 23, unlawfully residing in Kansas City, Kansas; Ignacio Diaz-Perez, 35, unlawfully residing in Oakwood, Georgia; Samuel Diaz-Perez, 26, unlawfully residing in Dublin, Ohio; and Salvador Diaz-Diaz, 32, unlawfully residing in Columbus, Ohio, were charged by indictment with conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States and 25 counts of bringing aliens illegally to the United States for profit.

Mexican nationals Julio Cesar Zuniga Luna, 30, and Jesus Juan Rodriguez Leyva, 36, believed to be involved in the smuggling event were taken into custody at the time of the incident. They have been charged with bringing in aliens resulting in death and bringing in aliens for financial gain.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection thwarted an attempted smuggling incident with an unaccompanied alien child in Yuma April 29. U.S. border officials apprehended a woman attempting to smuggle a 5-year-old boy — identified as “John Doe” in the legal complaint — after the child’s mother allegedly paid a smuggler to transport him illegally into the United States.

Mailon Almendares-Martinez, a 21-year-old resident of New Orleans, was convicted of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens April 30 for his role in a botched human smuggling attempt that resulted in two of the aliens being shot by suspected rival smugglers.

According to court records, between July 7, 2022, and March 21, 2023, Jose Luis Avalos, 42, the leader of the organization and the final defendant to plead in the case, along with co-conspirators and his wife, Kristina Hardin, coordinated the illegal transportation and harboring of illegal aliens throughout New Mexico.

A federal grand jury indicted an illegal alien, April 17, for his alleged role in smuggling an unaccompanied alien child to the United States and for allegedly submitting a sponsorship application with false statements to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement to gain custody of the minor after she entered the United States, following an ICE, FBI, investigation.

ICE removed Wilver Cota-Ortiz, 43, a citizen of El Salvador, to his home country where he is wanted by law enforcement authorities for human trafficking.

ICE HSI Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Murphy and acting United States Attorney Richard R. Barker announced that on April 2, a federal grand jury for the Eastern District of Washington returned an indictment charging Jonathan Michael Atkinson, age 34, with 11 criminal counts including Sex Trafficking Children, Production and Attempted Production of Child Pornography, Online Enticement of a Minor, and Forced Labor, following an ICE HSI, law enforcement partner investigation.

Greiby Melissa Barcelo-Velasquez was sentenced March 25 to 30 months in prison for her role in smuggling over 100 Colombians into the United States.