U.S. and Mexican law enforcement agencies worked together to extradite an alleged human smuggler operating in Mexicali as part of an international smuggling network, officials stated
Raul Saucedo-Huipio, 49, was arrested in Mexico on March 2, 2023, following a U.S. extradition request. He was transferred to U.S. custody on Feb. 21 to face charges in Arizona.
His co-conspirator, Ofelia Hernandez-Salas, 62, was extradited from Mexico in 2023. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy and smuggling charges on Dec. 18, 2024.
Court documents allege that Saucedo-Huipio and Hernandez-Salas conspired with other smugglers to bring large groups of migrants into the United States from countries across Asia, Africa, and the Americas. These included Bangladesh, Yemen, Pakistan, Eritrea, India, and several nations in Latin America, officials stated.
They allegedly charged migrants tens of thousands of dollars for the journey and directed them where to illegally cross the border, even providing ladders to scale the border fence. Saucedo-Huipio and his co-conspirators are also accused of robbing migrants at gunpoint, stealing their money and personal belongings.
Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart J. Zander for the District of Arizona are prosecuting the case.