DOJ in search of Mexican woman accused of smuggling thousands of migrants into the U.S.
Her husband, who's accused of co-leading the operation, was indicted last week
Pedro Camacho Pedro Camacho / Published Jul 22 2024, 11:12 AM EDT
U.S. authorities are conducting a search for VerĂ³nica Roblero Pivaral, a 25-year-old Mexican woman accused of leading an organization that trafficked thousands of migrants from multiple countries into the United States along with her husband.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) filed charges against Roblero Pivaral and her husband, Abdul Karim Conteh, a 42-year-old citizen of Sierra Leone, who was arrested on on July 11 in Tijuana, Mexico, and indicted last week. Roblero Pivaralis still at large and faces search and arrest warrants, the DoJ noted.
According to the indictment, Conteh's organization allegedly smuggled thousands of migrants to the United States through Mexico. The migrants mostly hailed from countries across the Atlantic, including Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Somalia, Cameroon, Senegal, Mauritania, Ethiopia, and Egypt.
The migrants paid smuggling fees, often tens of thousands of dollars to be transported through various countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala, on the way to the U.S.-Mexico border.
https://www.latintimes.com/doj-search-mexican-woman-accused-smuggling-thousands-migrants-us-556645