‘Chino’ smuggled thousands from Middle East through South Texas
by: Julian Resendiz
Posted: Jul 10, 2025 / 03:39 PM CDT
Updated: Jul 10, 2025 / 03:39 PM CDT
San Antonio man to spend 10 years in federal custody for role in migrant conspiracy spanning three continents
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A San Antonio man who admitted to smuggling up to 3,000 migrants from Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries into the United States will spend the next 10 years in a federal prison.
Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses on Wednesday sentenced Enil Edil Mejia Zuniga, 34, for his leadership role in a conspiracy spanning three continents. Mejia, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras also known as “Chino,” allegedly worked with a Pakistani smuggler based in Brazil who contracted clients in South America, Central and South Asia and facilitated travel to Eagle Pass, Texas.
The Brazil-based organization charged migrants between $6,500 and $12,000 for the travel, and Mejia would get about $3,000 for every client that reached Eagle Pass and an additional $3,000 for each one that made it to San Antonio, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Mejia paid “coyotes,” or foot guides, stash house caretakers and drivers to bring the migrants to San Antonio, federal officials said.
https://www.borderreport.com/immigration/border-crime/chino-smuggled-thousands-from-middle-east-through-south-texas/
