San Antonio – In a shocking turn of events, federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas have announced that they are nearing 300 new immigration cases to start September. Among these, four individuals stand accused in a chilling scheme to smuggle children from Mexico into the United States using candy laced with THC as a sedative during smuggling events.
Leading the charge is Susana Guadian, along with her husband Daniel Guadian, U.S. citizen Dianne Guadian, and Manuel Valenzuela, a lawful permanent resident in El Paso. They face charges of conspiracy to transport aliens and bringing aliens to the United States for financial gain. The defendants are alleged to have been part of an alien smuggling organization (ASO) that brought unaccompanied minors between ages five and 13 into the U.S., from Juarez, Mexico, using false documents at a port of entry.
One child suffered marijuana poisoning after being given gummy candies containing THC. The children were transported to El Paso, where Dianne Guadian and Manuel Valenzuela allegedly paid drivers $900 per minor. The scheme is accused to have occurred between May 1 and Oct. 17, 2024.
Elsewhere in the district, Mexican national Ever Ortega-Uranga was arrested for illegal presence in the U.S., having been previously removed twice before. He faces new charges after being sentenced in Midland for cocaine possession in 2010 and public order crimes in 2016.
Otoniel Lopez-Tellez was taken into ICE custody while serving a jail sentence for assault causing bodily injury to a family member. He has also been removed from the U.S. twice, most recently in 2018.
Mexican national Juan Eduardo Villanueva-Mancilla was taken into ICE custody after evading arrest with a vehicle, having been previously removed twice, including a recent return in April 2023. Angel Eduardo Moreno-De La Rosa was charged with guiding two Pakistani illegal aliens to a pick-up location for $1,000.
Emanuel Ruiz-Alcantara and Cristian Jiovanni Chavez-Sanchez were both arrested near Maverick, facing charges of illegal re-entry after having been previously removed from the U.S. They are part of a growing trend of immigration-related cases in the Western District of Texas.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Human Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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