TEXAS – A Guatemalan woman appeared in court last week to face criminal charges for her role in smuggling illegal immigrants to the United States for profit, according to federal officials.
The woman, Rosa Umanzor-Lopez, 35, was arrested in Guatemala on Feb. 5, 2014 and extradited to the U.S.. She was named in an indictment charging her with three counts of bringing illegal immigrants to the U.S. for financial gain and three counts of encouraging and inducing an illegal immigrant to come to this country, officials said.
Three other defendants also charged in the indictment have been convicted and sentenced, according to authorities.
The indictment alleges that Umanzor-Lopez and her co-defendants set up a network to recruit people from India and elsewhere who wished to be smuggled into the United States.
The defendants then allegedly arranged for the illegal immigrants to be transported to the United States through South America and Central America by various means including by air travel, automobiles, water craft and foot, officials claim.
Umanzor-Lopez is innocent until proven guilty.