News Releases and Statements

HSI San Diego, the FBI’s San Diego Field Office and the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, in partnership with state and local agencies, identified and located 15 victims of sex trafficking during Operation Cross Country, a nationwide enforcement campaign.

HSI Phoenix and other law enforcement agencies identified and located five minor sex trafficking victims as part of Operation Cross Country, a nationwide enforcement campaign. During the operation, authorities arrested one alleged trafficker and 31 additional subjects for allegedly attempting to have sexual contact with minors.

Charles Lee Smith, 55, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 10 years in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to transport unlawfully present noncitizens.

A judge sentenced Andrew Carrillo, 30, of Von Army, Texas, to 18 years in federal prison on Aug. 2 for one count of conspiracy to kidnap and one count of conspiracy to transport noncitizens resulting in serious bodily injury.

The new charges were filed against Erminia Serrano Piedra aka Irma aka Boss Lady, 32, of Elgin, Texas; Oscar Angel Monroy Alcibar aka Pelon, 40, also of Elgin; Pedro Hairo Abrigo, 34, of Killeen, Texas; and Juan Diego Martinez-Rodriguez aka Gavilan, 38, of Dale, Texas.

The HSI-led effort, dubbed Operation Rolling Fire, partnered more than 20 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and nongovernmental organizations during a child exploitation and human trafficking recovery initiative.

A federal judge sentenced Miguel Angel Ceballos-Acuna, 30, a Mexican citizen residing illegally in the United States, to federal prison following his conviction of attempted human smuggling resulting in the death of a child.

As detailed in pleadings filed prior to the sentencing hearing, Jose Cruz Noguez,49, of Mexicali, Mexico was a coordinator of the event in which two SUVs – a GMC Yukon and a Ford Expedition – were modified by removing the seats in the passenger compartments so that undocumented migrants literally could be stacked on top of one another. 

Arling Antonio Gutierrez-Garcia, 49, was sentenced June 29 to 72 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty March 10.

According to court documents, David Alexander Gonzalez-Diaz, 24, of Santa Rosa, Guatemala, was transporting 14 undocumented noncitizens north of Van Horn, Texas, on Oct. 29, 2021, when he lost control of his vehicle, crashing and ejecting several occupants. Four of the migrants were killed and six were critically injured. Gonzalez-Diaz has remained in federal custody since his arrest the day of the crash.

Four Mexican nationals were arrested yesterday in Houston, Marshall and San Antonio, Texas, for their alleged roles in a tractor-trailer smuggling incident that resulted in 53 deceased and 11 injured undocumented individuals on June 27, 2022.

Maria Mendoza-Mendoza aka La Guera made her initial court appearance June 23 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

According to the indictment and other court records, two citizens of Guatemala — Ronaldo Galindo Lopez-Escobar aka Tio Roni, 45, of Guatemala City, Guatemala, and his sister, Rosa Adriana Lopez-Escobar aka Tia Rosa, 38, of Phoenix — allegedly led the Lopez crime family, a transnational criminal organization principally involved in human smuggling with operations in Guatemala, Mexico and the United States.

Manuel Ochoa-Vasquez, 39, of Paso Hondo, Mexico, pleaded guilty on Dec. 15, 2022, to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Olegario Lares-De La Rosa, 30, of Mexico, was convicted of conspiracy to commit hostage taking, conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit, transportation of illegal aliens, and felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition after a jury trial in February 2023.

According to the indictment and other court records, Jose Luis Avalos aka “El Gordo,” 40, of El Paso, Texas, allegedly led the human smuggling operation. Avalos and his wife, Kristina Hardin, 41, also of El Paso, were arrested June 1 in El Paso, and detention hearings are set for June 7 to determine whether they will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled.

Andres Urias-Soto, 28, of Phoenix, Arizona, further pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit Resulting in Death and admitted to violating a condition of supervised release.

Angelico Roa-Joachin, 43, of Mexico, was convicted of conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens for profit and reentry of a removed alien.

Vince Ruiz III, a 33-year-old resident of Humble, Texas, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 18 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by two years of supervised release.

The operation was initiated by the Kansas City Heartland Anti-Trafficking Rescue Taskforce and focused on identifying and rescuing victims who were being trafficked for sexual exploitation. HSI, with assistance from the Independence Police Department, arrested 22 individuals and rescued two trafficking victims.

Henry Licona-Larios, a 34-year-old unlawfully present Honduran national, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 41 months in prison for conspiracy to harbor unlawfully present noncitizens. Licona-Larios pleaded guilty to the charges on May 24, 2022.

U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana sentenced Denny Fuentes, 48, from Splendora, Texas, to 15 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

Trajahn Alexander Johnson, 25, of Glendale, Arizona, was sentenced to six months in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Johnson, the final co-conspirator to be sentenced, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death. 

Adrian Duran-Estrada, 39, of Tucson, was also ordered to pay a $200 special assessment and a $20,000 money judgment. Duran-Estrada pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

On March 14, David Daniel Gallegos, 21, of Pomona, California, allegedly applied for admission into the United States from Mexico via a vehicle lane at the San Luis Port of Entry in San Luis.