ODESSA, TX – In a shocking case of human smuggling, two Guatemalan nationals have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for their role in a prolific human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in the death of a migrant.
Armando Gael Galicia, 27, also known as Artemio Diego Andres Gonzalez and Luis Moreno-Gonzalez, was sentenced to 17 years and six months in federal custody. His accomplice, Jose Diego Tercero-Gonzalez, 23, was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in federal custody. The sentences were handed down in the Western District of Texas.
According to court documents, Gael Galicia and Tercero-Gonzalez were responsible for smuggling a young indigenous Guatemalan woman into the United States. In May 2021, her body was discovered in a remote area outside of Odessa, Texas. The gruesome discovery sparked a massive investigation that led authorities to arrest Gael Galicia and Tercero-Gonzalez in August 2021. Inside the trailer where the victim was taken and died, authorities found additional migrants who had entered the country unlawfully.
The case is related to the recent guilty pleas of Felipe Diego Alonzo, Nesly Norberto Martinez Gomez, Lopez Mateo Mateo, and Juan Gutierrez Castro for their involvement in the Guatemala-based human smuggling conspiracy that led to the young woman’s death.
The investigation was coordinated through Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), a joint effort between the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to combat human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Central America and Mexico. HSI Midland investigated the case, working in concert with HSI Guatemala and the HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C.
HSI received substantial assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations, ICE’s Parole and Law Enforcement Programs Unit, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center/Operation Sentinel, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Marshals Service, the Odessa and Midland Police Departments, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Ector County, Midland County, and Crane County Sheriffs’ Offices.
The Justice Department thanks Guatemalan law enforcement for their instrumental role in furthering the investigation.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Human Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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