The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:
Fourteen alleged members of a prolific alien smuggling
organization were charged for their roles smuggling aliens from South and
Central America into the United States via the southern border.
A grand jury in Las Cruces, New Mexico, returned an indictment
on Feb. 19 against 14 individuals for conspiracy to transport,
harbor, and bring in illegal aliens to the United States. Eight of those
charged were arrested on Feb. 20 and 21.
“Today’s indictment alleges that the defendants engaged in a
sophisticated conspiracy to smuggle aliens into and throughout the United
States at great danger to the aliens, resulting in the death of one person,”
said Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s
Criminal Division. “The Justice Department worked with our partners at the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to dismantle an alien smuggling
organization based in Mexico that has allegedly smuggled hundreds of illegal aliens,
including unaccompanied children, through New Mexico and South Texas. We are
committed to eliminating transnational alien smuggling organizations that
exploit migrants purely for profit and undermine our national security.”
According to the indictment unsealed today, the defendants
participated in a conspiracy to illegally bring undocumented aliens from Mexico
into the United States via the U.S. southern border. The indictment alleges
that the defendants were also responsible for transporting the aliens within
the United States and concealing them in “stash houses” along the way. During
some of the smuggling events, the defendants allegedly evaded law enforcement
by travelling at high rates of speed on the road and instructing aliens how to
flee U.S. Border Patrol and evade checkpoints. Additionally, the indictment
alleges that one undocumented alien died from heat exposure during a smuggling
event and was abandoned in the desert.
“Human smuggling organizations threaten our national security
and exploit vulnerable individuals for profit, putting their lives at risk and
undermining public safety,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin for
the District of New Mexico. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of New
Mexico is committed to continuing to work with our federal, state and local
partners to dismantle transnational human smuggling organizations, hold their
leaders accountable, and seize the illicit proceeds generated by these
exploitative enterprises.”
“We are appreciative of our brave law enforcement partners for
their continued vigilance in investigating and apprehending members of
transnational criminal organizations who conspire to undermine our nation’s
immigration laws for their profit, with a callous and reckless disregard for
the sanctity of life,” said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland
Security Investigations (ICE HSI) El Paso Special Agent in Charge Jason T.
Stevens. “As this case sadly demonstrates, human smuggling is a crime that
takes lives and puts the public at risk. ICE HSI is passionately devoted to
using its abundant authority to identify, investigate, and arrest criminals who
prey on the vulnerabilities of people they treat as human cargo.”
Michelle Martinez, 29, of El Paso, Texas; Jesus Calvillo, 44, of
El Paso; Jorge Calvillo, 25, of El Paso; Abel Aguilar-Cano, 53, of Albuquerque,
New Mexico; and Jose Palomino, 27, of El Paso, made their initial court
appearances today in the District of New Mexico and remain in U.S. custody.
Edna Valdez-China, 48, of El Paso; Leslie Nicole Calvillo, also known as Leslie
Jaramillo, 24, of El Paso; and Melissa Vargas, 22, of El Paso, are in U.S.
custody and will make their initial appearances on Feb. 25 in the District
of New Mexico. Jorge Alberto De La Cruz-Dominguez, also known as Guero, 54, of
Juarez, Mexico; Jorge Valdez China, also known as Lolo, 23, of El Paso;
Jonathan Valdez-China, also known as China and Dior, 24, of Juarez; and Alma
Guadalupe Valdez-China, 41, of Juarez, are also charged in the indictment.
Each defendant is charged with conspiracy to bring to,
transport, and harbor illegal aliens in the United States. If convicted, they
each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court
judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing
Guidelines and other statutory factors.
ICE HSI El Paso and the U.S. Border Patrol investigated the
case. U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA), ICE HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington,
D.C., and the Texas Department of Public Safety provided substantial assistance
with the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alyson R. Hehr for the District of New
Mexico and Trial Attorney Jenna Reed of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights
and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) are prosecuting the case.
These actions are the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint
Task Force Alpha (JTFA). JTFA was established in June 2021 to marshal the
investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Justice Department, in
partnership with DHS, to combat the rise in prolific and dangerous alien
smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador,
Honduras, Panama, and Colombia. JTFA comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’
Offices along the southwest border, including the Southern District of California,
District of Arizona, District of New Mexico, and Western and Southern Districts
of Texas. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice
Department’s Criminal Division, led by HRSP and supported by the Office of
Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training; Narcotic and Dangerous Drug
Section; Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section; Office of Enforcement
Operations; Office of International Affairs; and Violent Crime and Racketeering
Section. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS,
FBI, DEA, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than
355 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant
facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 300 U.S. convictions; more than 245
significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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