⏱ 2 min read
Marcelo Alonso-Almaraz and his wife Eloisa Almaraz-Vasquez, two Mexican nationals living illegally in the US, were behind a horrific hostage-taking and human smuggling operation in Albuquerque, NM. On November 2, 2022, they demanded an additional $6,000 from a family who had already paid $30,000 to have their loved ones smuggled into the country. The couple held a mother and her two daughters, aged six and nine, at an Albuquerque stash house, threatening them with a firearm.
The victims were forced to live in squalid conditions, housed in a 1,000 square foot apartment with dozens of others, stripped of their phones, and fed only twice a day. The mother was forced to wash dishes and serve food to the other occupants in exchange for extra food for her daughters. The rooms were so crowded that the victims could not lie down and were forced to sit on the floor with their legs curled in.
Homeland Security Investigations received a tip about the hostage situation and conducted surveillance on the stash house. On November 3, 2022, investigators observed Alonso-Almaraz and Almaraz-Vasquez exit the residence with the mother and children and enter a Dodge van. Agents maintained surveillance of the van until it arrived at a meet location, where an undercover agent exchanged $6,000 in cash for the safe release of the mother and her daughters.
Once the victims were secured, law enforcement moved in and arrested the couple. A search of the van yielded a loaded handgun and the $6,000 in extortion money. The couple’s arrest brought an end to their twisted operation, and they were subsequently sentenced for their crimes.
📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Human Trafficking
- Defendant: New Mexico
- Location: NM
- Source: DOJ Press Release
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