Ofelia Hernandez Salas, a 64-year-old Mexican national, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for her role in a years-long human smuggling operation that brought hundreds of aliens from over a dozen countries into the United States.
According to court documents, Hernandez Salas and her co-conspirators facilitated the travel of aliens from countries including Bangladesh, Yemen, Pakistan, Eritrea, India, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Russia, Egypt, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. The aliens were charged tens of thousands of dollars to cross the Mexico-U.S. border illegally.
The smuggling operation, which operated at the U.S.-Mexico border, was marked by armed robberies of the smuggled aliens. Hernandez Salas’s involvement in the operation put communities across the country at risk, with Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division stating that transnational human smuggling at a large scale “directly threatens our national security.”
Hernandez Salas’s sentence is a significant blow to the human smuggling operation, which had been active for years. The case highlights the ongoing threat posed by human smuggling groups to national security and community safety.
The investigation and prosecution of Hernandez Salas were carried out by the U.S. Department of Justice, with assistance from other law enforcement agencies. The case serves as a reminder of the importance of continued efforts to combat human smuggling and protect the integrity of the U.S. border.
Hernandez Salas’s sentence was handed down on Monday, May 13, 2026.
Source: Department of Justice
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