The operation was part of a task force that has, so far, led to the arrests of more than 350 criminals engaged in human smuggling.
An enforcement operation conducted as part of a bilateral cooperation between the United States and Mexico has led to disruptions and arrests in human smuggling operations, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
On Wednesday, the Mexico Attorney General’s Office conducted a “significant enforcement operation to dismantle a prolific transnational alien smuggling organization operating in Juarez, Chihuahua, along the U.S.-Mexico border,” the DOJ said in a Feb. 20 statement.
The Mexico-based group allegedly utilized smuggling corridors centered in the Anapra, Chihuahua-Santa Teresa, New Mexico area to carry out their operations. The organization employs Mexican nationals, many of whom are either former or current members of various cartels, said the department.
The group “is alleged to be responsible for illegally smuggling large numbers of individuals, including children, from Central America into El Paso, Texas.”
“The criminal organization is also alleged to have kidnapped aliens seeking to enter the United States illegally and extorted their families for money before completing their smuggling journey.”
In the operation, arrest warrants were executed against two individuals alleged to be human smugglers. The Mexican nationals, Brian Alan Torres Gonzalez and Soledad Morales Nava, are set to be prosecuted in Mexico, with the United States providing evidence for the prosecution, the DOJ said.
Washington provided assistance to Mexico Attorney General’s Office under the Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). Created in 2021, the JTFA marshals resources from the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security to boost enforcement efforts against human smuggling and trafficking groups in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, and Panama.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum recently agreed to deploy 10,000 Mexican National Guard along her country’s border with the United States to help tackle cross-border smuggling and drug trafficking.
The troop deployment is part of Mexico’s agreement with the Trump administration to temporarily pause 25 percent tariffs on Mexican exports to the United States which was set to come into effect earlier this month.
