CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Five members of a transnational human smuggling ring that generated thousands of dollars a week and left a Guatemalan man to die in the Texas heat have been sentenced to federal prison.
On July 2, 2024, Dagoberto Mizzael Flores, 25, fled a traffic stop while driving a Ford F-150 loaded with undocumented immigrants. The group scattered into the brush to avoid authorities. One Guatemalan man became separated from the group and repeatedly messaged the smuggling coordinators for help, sharing his location.
Instead of rescuing him, coordinator Cynthia Gabriela Muniz-Carreon told the man to stay well hidden and be patient. Authorities later found him dead from heat exhaustion. Temperatures had reached 100 degrees that day.
The deadly July incident was not the only time the group's actions led to tragedy. In April 2024, a rollover crash near Laredo left a Guatemalan man with serious back injuries requiring hospitalization. In another incident dating back to 2022, a migrant became so weak and delirious he could no longer walk through the brush.
U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo recently sentenced Flores to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release. David Alejandro Gomez-Flores, 30, received a 240-month sentence, and Martha Angelica Limon Parra, 30, received 135 months. Muniz-Carreon, 31, and Edy Lima-Flores, 38, were previously sentenced to 135 months and 240 months, respectively. Lima-Flores was also ordered to pay a $150,000 fine.
During the sentencing, Marmolejo emphasized the extensive and lucrative nature of the operation, noting the defendants' reckless disregard for human life. The organization moved thousands of people across the southern border of Texas, generating approximately $79,000 in a single week.
Coordinators managed the operation through a WhatsApp group chat called "La Oficina," using detailed ledgers and color-coded spreadsheets. The smugglers instructed Guatemalan migrants to falsely claim Mexican nationality if caught. This tactic exploited U.S. immigration procedures, ensuring the migrants would be deported to Mexico rather than Guatemala, which made it faster and easier for the organization to smuggle them back into the United States.
Lima-Flores served as the Laredo-based transportation coordinator who hired Flores, while Gomez-Flores ran the stash houses. Gomez-Flores, who received more than $330,000 for his role, worked with the Laredo-based gang Los Fantasmas and the Cartel del Noreste to smuggle people once they reached the United States. Parra and Muniz-Carreon operated as coordinators in Mexico.
Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck announced the sentences. The non-U.S. citizens involved are expected to face removal proceedings after their prison terms.
The investigation was conducted by multiple agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations, Border Patrol, and the Laredo Police Department Gang Unit. The prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force and Joint Task Force Alpha, which target cartels and human smuggling networks operating in the United States and abroad.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today!
