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June 7, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Olegario Lares-De La Rosa, 30, of Mexico, was convicted of conspiracy to commit hostage taking, conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit, transportation of illegal aliens, and felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition after a jury trial in February 2023.
June 7, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
According to the indictment and other court records, Jose Luis Avalos aka “El Gordo,” 40, of El Paso, Texas, allegedly led the human smuggling operation. Avalos and his wife, Kristina Hardin, 41, also of El Paso, were arrested June 1 in El Paso, and detention hearings are set for June 7 to determine whether they will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled.
May 17, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Andres Urias-Soto, 28, of Phoenix, Arizona, further pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit Resulting in Death and admitted to violating a condition of supervised release.
May 15, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Angelico Roa-Joachin, 43, of Mexico, was convicted of conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens for profit and reentry of a removed alien.
May 12, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Vince Ruiz III, a 33-year-old resident of Humble, Texas, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 18 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by two years of supervised release.
May 4, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
The operation was initiated by the Kansas City Heartland Anti-Trafficking Rescue Taskforce and focused on identifying and rescuing victims who were being trafficked for sexual exploitation. HSI, with assistance from the Independence Police Department, arrested 22 individuals and rescued two trafficking victims.
May 4, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Henry Licona-Larios, a 34-year-old unlawfully present Honduran national, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 41 months in prison for conspiracy to harbor unlawfully present noncitizens. Licona-Larios pleaded guilty to the charges on May 24, 2022.
April 28, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana sentenced Denny Fuentes, 48, from Splendora, Texas, to 15 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.
April 24, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Trajahn Alexander Johnson, 25, of Glendale, Arizona, was sentenced to six months in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Johnson, the final co-conspirator to be sentenced, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death. 
April 20, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Adrian Duran-Estrada, 39, of Tucson, was also ordered to pay a $200 special assessment and a $20,000 money judgment. Duran-Estrada pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
April 20, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
On March 14, David Daniel Gallegos, 21, of Pomona, California, allegedly applied for admission into the United States from Mexico via a vehicle lane at the San Luis Port of Entry in San Luis.
April 19, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Ernesto Gaona-Gonzalez, 59, of Mission, was charged with attempting to smuggle a noncitizen. On April 18, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nadia S. Medrano found Gaona-Gonzalez to be a danger to the community and a flight risk and ordered him to remain in custody pending further criminal proceedings.
April 4, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Urbino Garcia-Bahena, a 32-year-old unlawfully present noncitizen residing in Houston, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 151 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit hostage taking.
March 31, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
The complaint alleges that an investigation identified Juan Manuel Soto-Guzman, 41, of Mexico, as a person involved in a conspiracy to transport undocumented noncitizens for profit.
March 23, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Ofelia Hernandez-Salas, 60, and co-conspirator Raul Saucedo-Huipio, 48, were arrested in Mexico at the request of the United States pursuant to charges previously filed in the District of Arizona and unsealed last week.
March 23, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Ofelia Hernandez-Salas, 60, and co-conspirator Raul Saucedo-Huipio, 48, were arrested in Mexico at the request of the United States pursuant to charges previously filed in the District of Arizona and unsealed last week. Hernandez-Salas and Saucedo-Huipio allegedly conspired with other smugglers to facilitate the travel of large numbers of migrants from and through Bangladesh, Yemen, Pakistan, Eritrea, India, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Russia, Egypt, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico into the United States.
March 14, 2023
|Financial Crimes, Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Si Liu, 36, and her codefendants Ye Wang, 32, and Yang Gao, 33, conspired to move and conceal proceeds obtained through prostitution.
March 13, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Arling Antonio Gutierrez-Garcia, 49, a Nicaraguan citizen unlawfully present in the United States pleaded guilty March 10 to conspiracy to transport noncitizens.
March 10, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
On March 9, a federal judge in Del Rio sentenced Enrique Rodriguez, 21, of San Antonio, to 78 months in prison for conspiracy to transport noncitizens resulting in serious bodily injury or placing lives in jeopardy. In addition to his prison sentence, the judge ordered him to pay $205,827.97 in restitution.
March 8, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Miguel Angel Ceballos-Acuna, 30, of Mexico, pleaded guilty March 7 to a human smuggling event resulting in the death of a minor child.
March 6, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Francisco Javier Quintanilla-Alcocer, a 38-year-old Mexican citizen, pleaded guilty March 3. Brandon Cibriano-Gonzalez, a 21-year-old Mexican citizen, and Orlando Andres Garcia, 23, Mission, Texas, had previously admitted their guilt in relation to the scheme.
February 28, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking, Child Exploitation
A judge in the Southern District of Texas convicted Edgar Botello, 30, of conspiracy to sex trafficking; sex trafficking with force, fraud or coercion; and possession of child pornography.
February 24, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Olegario Lares-De La Rosa, 29, of Mexico, previously pleaded guilty to felon in possession of a firearm on June 9, 2022. Sentencing is scheduled for May 4 before United States District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps.
February 23, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
According to court documents, Jose Miguel Sandoval-Pineda aka “Primo,” aka “Chavalon,” 22, of Michoacan, Mexico, was the leader, organizer and recruiter for a criminal organization heavily involved in human smuggling, firearms trafficking, and narcotics trafficking in the San Antonio area in 2019 and early 2020.
February 22, 2023
|Human Smuggling/Trafficking
Authorities arrested 48 people for alleged human trafficking, sexual exploitation and other criminal offenses and offered support to 41 people, including eight children. Officials also recovered two firearms, including a ghost gun.
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