Honduran Man Guilty of Transporting Illegal Aliens

A Honduran national has pleaded guilty to transporting illegal aliens across state lines.

Danny Josue Zelaya-Ortiz, aka ‘Jose Castro’, 29, was part of a conspiracy to charge illegal aliens in the United States a fee for transporting them from Texas to other states across the country.

According to court documents, in April 2018, Zelaya-Ortiz picked up at least six alien passengers, all of whom had been smuggled into the United States from the Mexico border.

Zelaya-Ortiz admitted he knew the passengers were illegal aliens and that he received payments for his role in the scheme.

“Human smugglers time and time again demonstrate a total disregard for both our laws and for human life,” said Patrick J. Lechleitner, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.

“HSI will continue to enforce the laws these criminals attempt to skirt, and continue to disallow all of the nefarious activities these smuggling schemes fund,” Lechleitner added.

Zelaya-Ortiz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and illegal reentry after deportation, and faces a maximum penalty of 12 years in prison when sentenced on September 14.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, commended the efforts of the Fairfax County Police and Homeland Security Investigations for their role in the case.

Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton accepted the plea, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Raizza K. Ty and Christopher Kaltsas are prosecuting the case.

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