DEL RIO, Texas
A Mexican man appeared in federal court last week after being extradited from Mexico to face charges tied to a large-scale international alien smuggling organization, officials stated.
Efrain Zuniga-Garcia, 37, was indicted in September 2023 in the Western District of Texas for conspiring to smuggle migrants into the United States for profit.
According to authorities, co-defendant Monica Hernandez-Palma, who was extradited earlier this year, pleaded guilty in April 2025 and is scheduled to be sentenced in November.
Prosecutors allege that from November 2020 to September 2023, Zuniga-Garcia managed a stash house in Monterrey, Mexico, where migrants were held before being guided across the Rio Grande by “coyotes.”
The organization, directed by Honduran national Enil Edil Mejia-Zuniga, is accused of moving thousands of migrants from Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Ecuador into the U.S. Migrants reportedly paid between $6,500 and $12,000 each, generating an estimated $16 to $30 million.
Authorities said the group operated stash houses in Monterrey and Piedras Negras and used a network of smugglers spanning Brazil, San Antonio, and Central America.
Mejia-Zuniga admitted the group smuggled 2,500 to 3,000 migrants in two years and was sentenced in July 2025 to the statutory maximum of 10 years in prison.
Zuniga-Garcia was arrested in Mexico in October 2024 at the request of U.S. authorities. His extradition followed months of coordination between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement.
He is charged with conspiracy to bring illegal aliens into the U.S. and three counts of smuggling for profit, carrying a mandatory minimum of five years in prison if convicted.