Authorities in Washington unveiled a series of indictments which revealed a lucrative human smuggling operation across the US-Mexico border. They have indicated that this operation allegedly entails smuggling migrants in suitcases and water tanks to get them across the border. Officials with the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told reporters on Tuesday that these smugglers are profit-driven and indifferent to human life.
According to court records and media reports, at least eight people, most of whom are US citizens, were charged in relation to this operation which has smuggled hundreds of people in wooden crates on tractor-trailers with little ventilation. Additionally, six others were cited as co-conspirators, the reports indicated.
This move is in line with US President Joe Biden and his administration’s bid to disrupt and curtail smuggling networks at the US-Mexico border. So far, they have arrested nearly 2 million people this fiscal year, which began last October. “They have become increasingly intertwined with the cartels and there is increasing evidence of the abuse, exploitation and violence they perpetrate on migrants,” said DHS deputy secretary, John Tien, at a press conference.
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US prosecutors also identified Texas resident Erminia Serrano Piedra, a 31-year-old, who also goes by the name “boss lady”, as the leader of the smuggling operation. Serrano Piedra deposited more than $1.3 million in two bank accounts between December 2017 and August 2021.
Earlier this year, in June, 53 migrants being smuggled across the border died after they were trapped in a sweltering tractor trailer in San Antonio, Texas. This was as the temperature in the area had soared as high as 39.4 degree Celsius. Subsequently, four men including the alleged driver were charged by prosecutors. According to a report, half of the 53 victims were from Mexico while others were from Central American countries, Honduras and Guatemala.
(with inputs from agencies)
