Two Mexican nationals are being charged with bringing people into the U.S. illegally, which caused at least three people to die when a panga boat capsized near San Diego. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said she wants the Justice Department to go after the death sentence for them.
At first, the Coast Guard said that two people were being held because they were thought to be smugglers. On May 6, it was found that their names were Julio Cesar Zuniga Luna, 30, and Jesus Juan Rodriguez Leyva, 36. Later, three more were caught and are being charged with similar crimes. Noem said that the two people who are being charged with bringing in migrants illegally should get the death sentence.
“This terrible event is a stark reminder of how cruel and dangerous it is to smuggle people across the ocean.” Noem said in a statement on May 6 that the deaths could have been avoided and were caused by the greed and lack of care of the pirates who took advantage of them.
“Those who knowingly place human lives at grave risk in furtherance of such crimes must be held fully accountable.”
Where did the panga boat go?
The panga-style boat washed up early May 5 near Torrey Pines State Beach, which is about 30 miles from the border between the United States and Mexico. Three bodies were found, one of them an Indian boy who was 14 years old. Officials say that four more people were hurt and taken to the hospital for treatment. The boy’s father is in a coma, and his mother is also there.
From what the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California knows, the boy’s 10-year-old sister is still missing and thought to be dead.
Seven to nine people who were thought to be on the boat were reported missing by the police. A large search of the water and land in the area was called off by the Coast Guard.
Indian ID cards were discovered where the boat sank.
Five people have been charged with smuggling
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that later on May 5, Border Patrol agents saw the same car at the beach and in Chula Vista, which is about 25 miles away. No one was hurt in the accident. The driver ran away, but he or she was caught along with two other drivers who were thought to be involved. Eight of the nine migrants who were reported lost were also found.
The Mexicans Melissa Jenelle Cota (33), Gustavo Lara (32), and Sergio Rojas-Fregosa (31), were caught and charged with harbouring migrants and being an illegal immigrant caught in the U.S. For those acts, the harshest punishment is 10 years in prison and 2 years in prison.
For Zuniga Luna and Rodriguez Leyva, the charges are bringing in migrants with the intent to kill, which can lead to death or life in prison, and bringing in migrants for money, which can lead to another 10 years in prison.
“The heartbreaking deaths of these children by drowning show how little human traffickers care about the costs of their dangerous business,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon in a statement. “We are committed to seeking justice for these vulnerable victims, and to holding accountable any traffickers responsible for their deaths.”