MARCH 4, 2022VICTORIA, TXHUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING
South Texas woman convicted after ICE HSI investigation uncovers her role in arranging deadly human smuggling attempt
VICTORIA, Texas – An investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Houston and the Victoria (Texas) Police Department led to a South Texas woman pleading guilty Thursday for her role in arranging a human smuggling attempt that left one undocumented migrant dead.
Viriam Lizeth Huerta-Garcia, 24, a resident of Edinburg, Texas, pleaded guilty March 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to conspiracy to transport undocumented migrants. She is scheduled to be sentenced on the charges May 26 and faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
On July 21, 2021, authorities learned that an undocumented migrant had been abandoned along the roadside during a human smuggling attempt. A family member of the victim had reported to law enforcement that smugglers had told them that the male migrant had become ill during the smuggling attempt and provided the location of where he was left behind.
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/south-texas-woman-convicted-after-ice-hsi-investigation-uncovers-her-role-arranging
