CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (KFOX14/CBS4) — Two human smugglers with links to the cartels were arrested Wednesday in Ciudad Juarez during a binational law enforcement operation.
According to The United States Department of Justice, Mexican citizens Brian Alan Torres Gonzalez and Soledad Morales Nava were taken into custody for reportedly being part of a human smuggling operation based in Juarez and known for smuggling people from Central America into the U.S. through Santa Teresa.
The DOJ claims this organization uses current and former members of different Mexican drug cartels who also kidnapped undocumented migrants to coerce money from their families.
Torres Gonzalez and Morales Nava will be prosecuted in Mexico with evidence provided by U.S. authorities.
The arrests were made by the Mexico Attorney General’s Office “Fiscalía General de la República” (FGR) with the help of the DOJ’s Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA).
The JTFA was created in 2021 to target human smuggling and trafficking organizations in Mexico, Guatemala El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia and Panama.
According to the DOJ numbers, the JTFA has resulted in:
Over 345 arrests, including of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators.More than 295 convictions in U.S. courts.240 plus defendants sentenced in U.S. courts.Seizures and forfeiture of assets and contraband including more than a million dollars in cash, real property, vehicles, firearms and ammunition, and drugs.Multiple indictments and successful extradition requests against foreign defendants who are leaders of these operations located in Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras.
RECOMMENDED: Venezuelan man linked to child assault, deportation order arrested in El Paso traffic stop
“Today’s action by Mexican authorities is the latest example of how JTFA provides critical contributions to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department, and its law enforcement partners, to target human smugglers and enhance coordination in transnational law enforcement efforts to better combat these criminal organizations,” said Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) El Paso assisted foreign investigative efforts in the United States, working with the U.S. Border Patrol.
Support from ICE HSI-Mexico City was critical in providing coordination between American and Mexican law enforcement agencies.
The Justice Department — including the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas in El Paso, HRSP, and the Office of the Judicial Attaché in Mexico City — provided significant assistance in this matter.
RECOMMENDED: White House joins ASMR trend with controversial Instagram video
Sign up to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox.
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=67b8907100c340bba4fe2113d17071e4&url=https%3A%2F%2Fkfoxtv.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fcartel-linked-human-smugglers-arrested-in-ciudad-juarez-during-binational-crackdown-chihuahua-chih-mexico-mx-central-america-santa-teresa-new-nm-jtfa-border-guatemala-el-salvador-honduras-colombia-panama&c=18369347082198087550&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2025-02-20 13:06:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
