South Texas man sentenced to more than 7½ years in federal prison for alien harboring conspiracy

LAREDO, Texas — A South Texas man was sentenced Wednesday to more than 7 ½ years in federal prison following his conviction for his role in an alien smuggling incident which led to the kidnapping of eight illegal aliens.

This sentence was announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick, Southern District of Texas. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Border Patrol and the Laredo Police Department.    

Jesus Osorio, 43, from Laredo, was sentenced Jan. 10 by U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo to 87 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.  The judge further ordered Osorio to complete 150 hours of community service. In handing down the sentence, Judge Marmolejo noted that during the conspiracy, some of the smuggled aliens were threatened with weapons and at least one suffered severe bodily injury during an eventual kidnapping. Osorio pleaded guilty Aug. 7, 2017, admitting that he conspired to harbor and transport illegal aliens in which the defendant caused serious bodily injury to another person.

According to court documents, on July 5, 2016, law enforcement responded to an incident at a residence in Laredo where eight illegal aliens were kidnapped and held hostage against their will. They had previously made arrangements to be smuggled into the United States. After their arrival, they stayed at a Laredo residence for two weeks.

They were then transported to a second location where Angel Alexis Diaz, 20, Jose Israel Diaz, 43, and Julio Osorio, 40, all of Laredo, held them hostage. The victims reported being beaten, forced to undress and ordered to contact family members to pay a ransom for their release.

Through further investigation, authorities learned Jesus Osorio was the man who drove the aliens from the stash house to the second residence where they were eventually kidnapped. During the course of the offense, one of the illegal aliens was seriously injured and required hospitalization.

Jesus Osorio will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.  

Angel Diaz, Jose Diaz and Julio Osorio were convicted of conspiracy to kidnap illegal aliens and received sentences between 262 and 360 months in federal prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher A. dos Santos, Southern District of Texas, is prosecuting this case.