Siblings from Laredo are headed to federal prison after being sentenced in a human smuggling conspiracy, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Alamdar S. Hamdani said.
Laredo resident Carlos Alberto Gonzalez, 23, and his sister Erika Yazbett Mendoza-Gonzalez, 36, a Mexican citizen residing illegally in Laredo, both pleaded guilty July 8, Hamdani said in a news release Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo sentenced Gonzalez to three years and 10 months in federal prison, while Mendoza-Gonzalez was sentenced to four years and nine months.
After they are released from prison, both must serve three years of supervised release, although Mendoza-Gonzalez is expected to face removal proceedings after her imprisonment because she is not a U.S. citizen.
The judge noted during the sentencing hearing that Gonzalez had previously been sentenced for human smuggling and still was on supervised release when he committed his most recent offense.
The judge ordered Gonzalez to serve a consecutive 10 months for this violation.
The judge said Gonzalez learned nothing from his previous offense and added that Mendoza-Gonzalez was highly involved in the smuggling organization.
The judge also discussed the conditions inside the stash house, noting that the siblings treated people they harbored as “commodities,” stating, “We just don’t treat human beings like this.”
Hamdani said: “No electricity, no running water and no toilet. Human smugglers do not care. No individual should be subjected to such inhumane conditions. This case underscores our commitment to dismantling human smuggling networks that exploit vulnerable individuals, including children.”
The news release said that on March 7, law enforcement saw Mendoza-Gonzalez pick up three suspected undocumented migrants near the intersection of Kearney Street and McDonnell Avenue in Laredo. Gonzalez was driving another vehicle that seemed to be traveling with Mendoza-Gonzalez.
Authorities followed both vehicles to a home on the 2300 block of San Leonardo Avenue, where Mendoza-Gonzalez dropped off the passengers before leaving with two other people.
Several hours later, law enforcement saw many people leave the home’s backyard and run into a nearby creek. Authorities chased them on foot, and law enforcement caught 20 undocumented migrants, two of whom were unaccompanied minors ages 13 and 15.
Upon entering the home, authorities found deplorable living conditions, the news release said. There was no electricity or running water, and piles of trash were throughout the home.
Law enforcement also found large tubs of water in the house where the migrants would bathe and relieve themselves. Authorities said the house hadn’t had utilities since 2022.
Gonzalez operated the stash house, while Mendoza-Gonzalez was a transporter who also delivered food to the migrants inside the home, the news release said.
On April 23, authorities conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle Mendoza-Gonzalez was driving and found a female passenger in the back seat covered in mud. She had a strong body odor, torn pants and scratch marks all over her arms, the news release said, adding she was a Mexican national without legal status in the United States.
Mendoza-Gonzalez admitted she was involved in the human smuggling organization and said she expected to receive $50 per migrant she transported.
Authorities said that phone communications between Mendoza-Gonzalez and coconspirators found that over a seven-week period, she had coordinated the transportation and harboring of at least 55 other people.
Mendoza-Gonzalez and Gonzalez will stay in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility later.
Homeland Security Investigations, the Border Patrol and the Laredo Police Department conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation. The unified effort targets the highest-level criminal organizations threatening the United States through the use of a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
Assistant U.S. Attorney and Joint Task Force Alpha detailee Jennifer Day prosecuted this case.
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