Homeland Security Secretary Kristin Noem called for a death sentence in a disastrous smuggling of sea people, which killed one child and at least two people.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Southern California announced Tuesday the charges against five illegal persons, including a 14-year-old boy from India, among which allegedly made mistakes in human smuggling attempts, killing at least three people.
Witnesses observed a overturned Panga boat on a beach in Delmar, California on Monday, according to the attorney’s office. Onlookers and San Diego lifeguards tried to rescue work, and law enforcement officers recovered three bodies, including a 14-year-old boy identified as "PPB" in court records, the statement said
The boy's mother and father and two others were rescued and hospitalized. The father was in a coma. The deceased's 10-year-old sister is still "missed at sea" and assumes death.
Two Mexican nationals, Julio Cesar Zuniga Luna, 30, and Jesus Juan Rodriguez Leyva, 36, were arrested on the beach and charged with aliens, resulting in death and bringing the financial benefits of foreigners. They face possible death sentences or life imprisonment, fined $250,000 for the first time and were sentenced to ten years in prison, with a minimum of three years and a second fine of $250,000.
Earlier in the evening, Noem posted on X
"This tragic loss of life underscores the deadly reality of smuggling by sea and the authorization of the death penalty when smuggling leads to death. I urge the Attorney General to prosecute the suspects to the greatest extent under the law."
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The U.S. Attorney's Office in Southern California announced Tuesday the charges against five illegal immigrants, including one of the alleged human smuggling attempts that resulted in at least three deaths, including a 14-year-old boy from India. (Fox News)
U.S. Border Patrol officers later identified two vehicles involved, arrested the driver, and eight of the remaining nine immigrants who disappeared on the ship, with only 10-year-old unjusted.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office accused three Mexican nationals who allegedly transported immigration – Melissa Jenelle Cota, 33, Gustavo Lara, 32, and Sergio Rojas-Fregosa, 31, of transporting illegal foreigners. They face a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a fine of $500,000.
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Rojas-Fregoso was identified as deported on December 19, 2023 and faces two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
"The drowning deaths of these children are heartbreaking reminders that traffickers rarely care about their deadly business costs," said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon.
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U.S. border agents patrol the Pacific Ocean at the Border Field Park in San Diego on November 20, 2018. (Reuters/Mike Black)
"Yesterday's heartbreaking incident reminded people of the desperate need to remove these crime networks powered by greed," said Shawn Gibson, special agent in charge of HSI San Diego.
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"No matter the route, human smuggling is not only illegal, but extremely dangerous. Smugglers often see people as disposable goods, resulting in tragedy, sometimes fatal consequences, as we have seen in this case."
“HSI is working with the U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard and other Marines partners to be responsible for those responsible for these unconscious deaths.”