Five illegal aliens have been charged in a deadly human smuggling operation that claimed four lives, including two children, off the California coast.
The tragedy unfolded when a panga boat capsized near San Diego, leaving a father in a coma and his 10-year-old daughter still missing at sea.
The Department of Homeland Security announced charges against five Mexican nationals involved in the fatal smuggling attempt.
Suspects Jesus Ivan Rodriguez-Leyva and Julio Cesar Zuniga-Luna were arrested on the beach and charged with bringing in migrants resulting in death and for financial gain.
Border Patrol agents later caught three additional suspects—Melissa Jenelle Cota, Gustavo Lara, and Sergio Rojas-Fregoso—who were driving vehicles linked to the operation.
Among the victims was a 14-year-old boy from India whose 10-year-old sister remains missing and is presumed dead.
Their parents were rescued, but the father is in a coma while the mother remains hospitalized.
The incident involved a total of 16 people crammed onto the small vessel designed for fishing, not transporting human cargo across dangerous waters.
Rojas-Fregoso faces additional charges for being in the United States illegally after a previous deportation.
Border Patrol agents located eight of the nine initially missing aliens in vehicles being driven by the smugglers, but the young Indian girl has not been found.
Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Adam Gordon declared:
“The drowning deaths of these children are a heartbreaking reminder of how little human traffickers care about the costs of their deadly business,” he added.
“We are committed to seeking justice for these vulnerable victims, and to holding accountable any traffickers responsible for their deaths,” he added.
Encinitas Deputy Fire Chief Jorge Sanchez declared the incident a “mass casualty event.”
Emergency responders recovered three bodies from the water while four survivors with respiratory issues were rushed to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.
Multiple agencies launched an extensive search operation with air resources, lifeguards on boats and jet skis, and personnel walking the beach.
These maritime smuggling attempts have increased dramatically along the California coast as cartels and human smugglers find ways to exploit border policies.
ICE Homeland Security Investigations San Diego Special Agent in Charge Shawn Gibson stated:
“Human smuggling, regardless of the route, is not only illegal but extremely dangerous. Smugglers often treat people as disposable commodities, leading to tragic and sometimes deadly consequences, as we saw in this case. [These] heartbreaking events are a stark reminder of the urgent need to dismantle these criminal networks driven by greed.”
Multiple agencies, including ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Coast Guard, are conducting the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Van Demark and Edward Chang are prosecuting the case.
