[ad_1]
Four people accused of smuggling about 20,000 undocumented immigrants from Guatemala to the United States, including seven who died in an Oklahoma car crash in 2023, have been charged by federal authorities in Los Angeles.
Charges were announced Monday against Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul, Cristobal Mejia-Chaj, Helmer Obispo-Hernandez and Jose Paxtor-Oxlaj, accused operators of the Torko Organization, considered one of the largest human smuggling operations in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Dwayne Angebrandt, Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles acting deputy special agent in charge, said the organization transported about 20,000 undocumented immigrants into the Los Angeles and Phoenix areas since 2019.
Once smuggled into the United States, some were brought to “stash houses” in Los Angeles’ Westlake District and other locations. They remained at those sites until the smugglers were paid, authorities said.
Renoj-Matul, the ring’s alleged leader, and Cristobal Mejia-Chaj were arrested Friday in the Westlake District. Each appeared in court, where they were ordered held without bond.
If convicted, they could each face the death penalty, officials said. They were arraigned Friday and ordered to stand trial on April 22.
Paxtor-Oxlaj is behind bars in Oklahoma for his role in a 2023 car crash that killed seven migrants, including three children, court papers show. Authorities said he was a driver for the criminal organization.
On Friday when search warrants were served, Obispo-Hernandez telephoned an investigator involved in the case and threatened to kill him and behead members of the agent’s family, acting U.S. Attorney Joseph T. McNally said. He remains at large.
All four were charged with one count of conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States, transporting aliens in the United States, and harboring aliens in the United States for private financial gain and resulting in death.
[ad_2]
[publish_date
