Overview

• Federal authorities arrested Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul and Cristobal Mejia-Chaj, leaders of a smuggling ring accused of bringing 20,000 migrants into the U.S. since 2019.
• The organization charged migrants $15,000 to $18,000 for passage and allegedly detained those unable to pay in stash houses in Phoenix and Los Angeles.
• The group is linked to seven deaths, including a 4-year-old child, and some migrants were threatened with violence or harm to family members if fees were unpaid.
• A third suspect, Helmer Obispo-Hernandez, remains at large and is accused of threatening a Homeland Security agent and their family.
• The accused face charges including conspiracy, hostage-taking, and transporting migrants resulting in death, with potential penalties of life imprisonment or the death sentence.