Human smuggling coordinator sentenced following ICE Arizona, law enforcement partner investigation

PHOENIX — Greiby Melissa Barcelo-Velasquez was sentenced March 25 to 30 months in prison for her role in smuggling over 100 Colombians into the United States. The investigation, conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol Sector Intelligence Unit, began in late 2023 after numerous Colombian nationals identified the 39-year-old as their smuggling coordinator.

“The defendant and her associates blatantly disregarded the safety and well-being of others by prioritizing personal profit over human lives,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Arizona Special Agent in Charge Francisco B. Burrola. “We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to disrupt these dangerous transnational criminal networks and ensure that those who exploit victims for financial gain are brought to justice.”

Barcelo-Velasquez owned and operated the Baul Travel SAS travel agency in her native country, Colombia. According to court documents, she allegedly charged the victims a fee to travel to Mexico under the guise of vacationing, with additional bribes required in U.S. currency at Mexican airports.

Once in Mexico, the Colombian nationals were taken to stash houses near the border and then transported by armed gunmen to cross illegally into the United States.

This case was coordinated under Joint Task Force Alpha. JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Justice, has been elevated and expanded by the attorney general with a mandate to target cartels and transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia that impact public safety and the security of our borders. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 355 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 320 U.S. convictions; more than 265 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stuart Zander and Adriana Genco from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona in Phoenix handled the prosecution.