Three men plead guilty to human smuggling across Canada’s border into U.S.

The U.S. Department of Justice is seen on June 20, 2023, in Washington, DC. Photo by Kevin Dietsch /Getty Images

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Three Mexican nationals living illegally in the United States have pleaded guilty to being part of a crime organization that smuggled people from Mexico, Central and South America into Canada and then across the border into the U.S.

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According to court documents, Ignacio Diaz-Perez, 37, Samuel Diaz-Perez, 27, and Salvador Diaz-Diaz, 34, were part of an alien smuggling organization (ASO) that brought hundreds of illegal migrants into the U.S.

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“Once the illegal aliens were inside the U.S., the ASO employed drivers to pick them up and drive them further into the country,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release. “The defendants personally participated in and coordinated smuggling events with other leaders of the ASO.”

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The department noted that during one smuggling event in May 2023, a van carrying illegal migrants led border patrol agents on a high-speed chase in which the agents had to eventually stop due to the risk to the public. Ultimately the local sheriff’s department used a tire deflation device to stop the van.

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The three men’s co-defendant, Edgar Sanchez-Solis, already pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and five counts of alien smuggling for private financial gain on May 7. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 10.

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Ignacio and Samuel Diaz-Perez each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and six counts of aliens smuggling for financial gain, while Diaz-Diaz pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and five counts of aliens smuggling for financial gain. They are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov 23, and face a penalty of between five and 15 years in prison.

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“Human smuggling threatens our national security in multiple ways, including the risks to public safety that take place when alien smugglers further ignore our laws and lead agents on dangerous high-speed pursuits,” Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement.

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“These defendants undermined the integrity of our border, disobeyed our traffic and public safety laws, and put ordinary citizens at risk. In short, for their own greed, they jeopardized the safety of the public and the illegal aliens they were smuggling. They will now answer for these offences.”

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The four men were arrested at multiple locations in the U.S. and charged on May 2.

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“These defendants illegally entered this country and then sought to smuggle hundreds of aliens per week to the United States from Mexico, Central America, and South America through the Canadian border,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

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“The defendants instructed smuggled aliens to make testimonial videos touting the enterprise’s services. In reality, the defendants imperiled their human cargo and innocent American lives when they repeatedly engaged in life-threatening conduct, including multiple high-speed getaways from law enforcement.”

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