Authorities Urge Migrants Against Making Smuggling Attempts

SAN DIEGO, CA — Given the recent spate of local human smuggling attempts resulting in migrants' deaths, federal authorities in San Diego Wednesday urged anyone considering a perilous border crossing against entrusting their life to smugglers.

In a joint statement, federal prosecutors and law enforcement made a plea to those contemplating the journey by highlighting fatalities linked to recent human smuggling operations conducted on land and sea.

Officials said 25 migrants have died in border areas within San Diego and Imperial counties between October 2020 and April 2021.

Recent incidents include:

-- The March 2 crash near Holtville that led to the deaths of 13 Mexican and Guatemalan nationals when an overloaded SUV crashed into a semi- truck on an Imperial County highway. Jose Cruz Noguez has been charged with allegedly coordinating the smuggling operation.
-- The May 2 boat crash off the coast of Point Loma that claimed the lives of three Mexican migrants. More than two dozen others were rescued after being forced to abandon the sinking vessel. The alleged boat captain, Antonio Hurtado, pleaded not guilty this week to two dozen charges filed against him in a grand jury indictment. Survivors told authorities they paid between $15,000 and $18,500 to be smuggled into the U.S., court documents state.
-- The May 20 panga boat that capsized near La Jolla, resulting in one person's death and eight others being rescued from the water. The boat's alleged captain, Victor Alfonso Soto Aguilar, and another man who allegedly acted as a refueler -- Jose Ramon Geraldo Romero -- were charged in an indictment returned Wednesday. Migrants rescued in the alleged smuggling attempt said they paid between $12,000 and $15,000 to be smuggled, according to prosecutors.

The U.S. Attorney's Office also noted recent San Diego court decisions regarding fatal smuggling attempts, including the case of three sisters who died of hypothermia while crossing a remote mountain path near Mt. Laguna, and the case of three Chinese migrants found dead inside the trunk of a car driven across the border.

"We are appealing to every person who is considering a desperate, perilous journey into the United States, whether in a boat, on foot or crammed in the trunk of a car," said Acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. "Don't do it. Do not put your life in the hands of smugglers. These people do not care about you. They will jam way too many people on a boat or in a car just to make more money. They will direct you to hike in remote areas in dangerous weather conditions without adequate food, water or clothes. Smugglers care nothing for their customers. They care only about maximum profit."

— City News Service