The operation has so far been part of a task force that has led to the arrest of more than 350 criminals engaged in human smuggling.
Enforcement activities carried out as part of bilateral cooperation between the US and Mexico have led to disruption and arrests in human smuggling operations, according to the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
The Mexico-based group is said to have used a smuggling corridor centered around Annapura in Chihuahua Santa Teresa, New Mexico, to carry out its business. The organization employed Mexican citizens, many of whom were former or current members of various cartels.
The group is said to be responsible for illegally smuggling numerous individuals, including children, from Central America to El Paso, Texas.
“The criminal organizations are also allegedly lured aliens who tried to illegally enter the United States and force their families to spend money before completing their smuggling journey.”
During the surgery, two individuals who were allegedly human smugglers were executed. Mexican nationals Brian Alan Torres Gonzalez and Soledad Morales Nava are set to be indicted in Mexico, with the US providing evidence of the prosecution, the DOJ said.
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Washington provided assistance to the Mexican Attorney General’s Office under the Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). Created in 2021, JTFA Marshall marshals resources from the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security, boosting enforcement efforts against human trafficking groups in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia and Panama.
The deployment of the military is part of an agreement with the Mexican regime, which will temporarily suspend the 25% tariff on Mexican exports to the United States, which came into effect earlier this month.
Cartel crackdown
To date, JTFA has been linked to the arrests of more than 350 national and international individuals engaged in human smuggling.
More than 300 US convictions and more than 245 defendants have been sentenced to “a critical prison imposed. And millions of dollars in cash, real estate, vehicles, firearms, ammunition and drugs.” “We have a significant amount of seizures and confiscation of assets and contraband, including,” the DOJ said.
Last month, two individuals were sentenced to 121 and 135 months respectively, leading a human smuggling operation that conspired to illegally transport hundreds of foreigners to the United States. The defendant was investigated under the JTFA.
In August 2024, large-scale enforcement work in Guatemala led to the arrest of a human smuggler who was indicted by the task force. The defendant is said to have facilitated the trip of four individuals from Guatemala to the United States, three of whom died in tractor trailers.
This includes the Mexican group, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, the New Generation Cartel of Jalisco, the United Cartel, the Lanueva Familiar Michoacana Organization, and the Northeast Cartel. Additionally, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and El Salvador’s Mara Salbatrucha (MS-13) were designated as terrorist organizations.
The designation of terrorists in these groups allows the US government to target their finances. Authorities can pursue individuals who supply arms to these criminal organizations. Additionally, this designation allows the US military to attack on facilities run by cartels.
The recent designation comes after Trump signed an executive order on January 20th, which asked officials to evaluate cartels and cross-border gangs as terrorist groups.
“The cartels are violent and terrifying throughout the Western hemisphere, which has destabilized countries not only of great importance to our national interests, but also of countries that have destabilized the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals and vicious gangs. I’ve been involved in the campaign,” the order said. .
