5 charged with human smuggling after deadly San Diego boat tragedy

14 hours ago 4

Suspect quality smuggling probe into capsized vessel

Coast Guard says it's treating capsized vessel arsenic suspected quality smuggling incident 02:07

Five Mexican nationals are facing quality smuggling charges aft a tiny vessel carrying implicit a twelve radical capsized disconnected the seashore of San Diego, sidesplitting astatine slightest 3 passengers, including a 14-year-old lad from India, U.S. Attorney's Office successful the Southern District of California announced Tuesday.

The boy's parents and 2 others were hospitalized, prosecutors confirmed successful a quality release. Nine different migrants were missing from the vessel and were presumably dead, but authorities aboriginal located 8 of them successful Chula Vista, astir 30 miles distant from Del Mar, wherever the vessel was found. A 10-year-old Indian girl, the boy's sister, remains missing, prosecutors said.

"The drowning deaths of these children are a heartbreaking reminder of however small quality traffickers attraction astir the costs of their deadly business," U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said successful a statement.

The Consulate General of Mexico successful San Diego connected Tuesday confirmed that 2 of the deceased and 2 of the radical hospitalized are Mexican nationals.

Two of the 5 alleged traffickers, Jesus Ivan Rodriguez-Leyva and Julio Cesar Zuniga-Luna, were arrested connected Monday astatine the formation wherever the overturned vessel washed ashore, according to prosecutors. They were charged with Bringing successful Aliens Resulting successful Death and Bringing successful Aliens for Financial Gain, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Prosecutors said the different 3 suspects, Melissa Jennelle Cota, Gustavo Lara and Sergio Rojas-Fregoso, had antecedently been deported connected Dec. 19, 2023. They were arrested precocious Monday nighttime aft Border Patrol agents successful Chula Vista identified a conveyance seen astatine formation successful Del Mar and investigated. While the operator of said conveyance fled, officers located 2 different vehicles progressive and recovered the missing migrants, according to quality release.

Cota, Lara and Rojas-Fregoso were charged with being successful the U.S. illegally, arsenic good arsenic for Transportation of Illegal Aliens.

It was unclear wherever the vessel was coming from earlier it flipped astir 35 miles northbound of the Mexico border, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Chris Sappey told The Associated Press. He said akin vessels were commonly utilized by smugglers.

In 2023, eight radical were killed erstwhile 2 boats capsized disconnected San Diego coast.