Homeland Security Secretary Christine Noem has sought the death penalty in the wake of a tragic maritime human smuggling operation that left one child behind and killed at least two others.
The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California announced on Tuesday accusations of five illegals who allegedly had human smuggling attempts wrong, resulting in at least three deaths, including a 14-year-old boy from India.
Witnesses observed a panga boat covered in a beach in Del Mar, California on Monday, according to the lawyer's office. The statement said bystanders and San Diego lifeguards attempted rescue operations, and law enforcement officials have recovered three bodies, including a 14-year-old boy identified as a “PPB” in court records.
The boy's mother, father and two others have been rescued and hospitalized. The father is in coma. The 10-year-old sister of the deceased child is still “missing at the sea” and is estimated to be dead.
Two Mexican nationals, Julio Cesar Zuniga Luna, 30, and Jesus Juan Rodriguez Leiba, 36, were arrested on the beach, killed with an alien, and charged with bringing them to financial gain. They face death sentences or life in prison, with a $250,000 fine for the first charge and a 10-year prison fine for three years fines, with a $250,000 fine for a three-year mandatory minimum and a second fine.
In the evening, Noem was posted on X:
“This tragic loss of life underscores the fatal reality of maritime human smuggling and the reason why Congress approved the death penalty when human smuggling ended up in death. I am urging the Attorney General to prosecute suspects to the fullest extent under the law.”
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The US Lawyer's Office for the Southern District of California announced charges against five illegal immigrants on Tuesday. (Fox News)
US Border Patrol agents later identified two vehicles involved, arrested the driver, retrieved eight of the nine missing immigrants from the boat, and only a 10-year-old child was not calculated.
The US Lawyer's office has charged three Mexican nationals, Melissa Generkota, 33, Gustabolala, 32 and 31, Sergioloja Suflegoza, 31, who allegedly transported immigrants. They will be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
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Rojas-Fregoso, who was identified as having been deported on December 19, 2023, also faces another two years of prison and a $250,000 fine.
“The drowsing of these children is a heartbreaking reminder that traffickers care little about the cost of fatal business,” said U.S. lawyer Adam Gordon.
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US Border Agent Patrol US Mexico border wall enters the Pacific Ocean in San Diego's border field state park on November 20, 2018. (Reuters/Mike Blake)
“The heartbreaking events of yesterday are a harsh reminder of the urgent need to dismantle these criminal networks driven by greed,” said Sean Gibson, a special agent responsible for HSI San Diego.
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“No matter the route, human smuggling is not only illegal, but extremely dangerous. Smugglers often treat people as disposable products, leading to tragic and fatal consequences, as we saw in this case,” Gibson said.
“HSI, along with other partners in the US Border Patrol, US Coast Guard and Marine Corps Task Force, are firmly committed to holding them responsible for these meaningless deaths.”
