DEL RIO, Texas – One of the two fugitives indicted for her alleged involvement in an attempted fatal alien smuggling operation that resulted in multiple illegal aliens being found dead inside a shipping container in May is now in custody, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas. According to court documents, Karina Garcia, 37, of Del Rio, made her initial appearance in federal court Tuesday afternoon in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Watters. Garcia self-surrendered Sunday at a port of entry in Del Rio, following an investigation led by the U.S. Border Patrol Intelligence Division, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Marshals. Garcia is alleged to have played a key role in the smuggling operation that spanned approximately three years and illegally used cargo trains to smuggle aliens further into the United States after illegally crossing them from Mexico. Each smuggled alien, or their families and friends, paid smugglers in Honduras, Mexico, the United States, and elsewhere between $1,500 and $10,000. Garcia was indicted in July and charged with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death and one count of aiding and abetting transport of illegal aliens resulting in death. If convicted, Garcia will face up to life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Eight other defendants were arrested over a multi-day Homeland Security Task Force operation across central and south Texas last month. Mayra Alejandra Huerta was arrested in Del Rio on May 12. Seferino Huerta-Casillas is now the only indicted co-defendant still at large. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Spears, Todd Keagle, and Ashley Ellis-Dotson are prosecuting the case. This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF comprises agents and officers from FBI; ICE HSI; DEA; ATF; U.S. Border Patrol; USMS; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Department of Transportation; IRS Criminal Investigation; Texas Department of Public Safety; as well as local police departments and sheriff’s offices, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas. The law enforcement efforts announced today were coordinated and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the Department’s lead effort in combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). JTFA also leads and supports U.S. Attorneys’ Offices (USAOs) in the prosecution of crimes related to unaccompanied alien children (UACs). A highly successful partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), JTFA investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security. JTFA’s mission is to target the leaders and organizers of Cartels and TCOs involved in human smuggling and trafficking throughout the Americas. The Attorney General has elevated and expanded JTFA to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, but also in Canada, the Caribbean and the maritime border, and elsewhere. Led by the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, the Office of International Affairs, and the Office of Enforcement Operations, among others, JTFA has dedicated Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the Southern District of California; District of Arizona; District of New Mexico; Western and Southern Districts of Texas; Southern District of Florida; Northern District of New York; and District of Vermont. JTFA also partners with other USAOs throughout the country and supports high-priority cases in any district. All JTFA cases rely on substantial law enforcement resources from DHS, including HSI and CBP/USBP and Office of Field Operations, as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 477 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking; more than 431 U.S. convictions; and more than 370 significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. ###
Del Rio Fugitive Self-Surrenders, Makes Initial Court Appearance in Alien Smuggling Case
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