{"id":54567,"date":"2023-11-01T16:40:35","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T23:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=54567"},"modified":"2023-11-01T16:40:35","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T23:40:35","slug":"four-guatemalans-sentenced-to-federal-prison-for-human-smuggling-scheme-that-resulted-in-death-of-guatemalan-in-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=54567","title":{"rendered":"Four Guatemalans Sentenced to Federal Prison for Human Smuggling Scheme That Resulted in Death of Guatemalan in 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"Federal officials announced Wednesday the sentences of four men from Guatemala who were involved in a human smuggling scheme that resulted in the death of a Guatemalan migrant in 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

Four defendants were given the following sentences: Lopez Mateo Mateo, aka Bud Light, 43, was sentenced to 30 years in prison; Felipe Diego Alonzo, aka Siete, 40, was sentenced to 19 years and seven months in prison; and Nesly Norberto Martinez Gomez, aka Canche, 38, and Juan Gutierrez Castro, aka Andres, 46, were both sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison.<\/span><\/p>\n

The men were leaders, organizers, and members of a prolific human smuggling scheme, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe four defendants sentenced in this case were part of a deadly human smuggling operation that endangered vulnerable migrants for profit and cost one woman her life,\u201d said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. \u201cWhen I directed the formation of Joint Task Force Alpha in 2021, I said that the Justice Department would combat the threats posed by dangerous human smuggling networks where they originate and operate. Since then, the Justice Department has made over 260 domestic and international arrests and secured 150 convictions on human smuggling charges.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"According to court documents, the defendants admitted to conspiring with other smugglers to facilitate the movement of large numbers of migrants from Guatemala through Mexico and ultimately into the United States. <\/span><\/p>\n

They charged the migrants and their families about $10,000 to $12,000 for the perilous journey. <\/span><\/p>\n

One of the journeys resulted in the death of a young indigenous Guatemalan woman, who died in Texas in April 2021, according to authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n

The woman\u2019s family paid the defendants about $10,000 to smuggle her into the United States. <\/span><\/p>\n

The defendants arranged for her to be guided for several days on foot through the desert from Mexico into Texas and then driven to a stash house in Odessa, Texas, where she ultimately died. <\/span><\/p>\n

The defendants and their co-conspirators dumped her body on the side of a rural road outside Odessa, Texas. The defendants and their co-conspirators also arranged to pay off the victim\u2019s family in Guatemala.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese sentences reflect the lengths and degrees this office and the overall Justice Department will go to seek justice for the victims of heinous crimes and prevent further harm,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. \u201cSmuggling rings like these operate, not with any concern for their victims\u2019 lives, but rather their greed and desire for cold, hard cash.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Each defendant pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to bring an alien to the United States, resulting in death. <\/span><\/p>\n

As\u00a0announced last year<\/a>, extensive coordination between U.S. and Guatemalan law enforcement authorities led to the indictment and arrest of these four defendants, as well as the apprehension of 15 additional co-conspirators in Guatemala.<\/span><\/p>\n