- The Justice Department announced the arrests of two Guatemalan nationals, Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul and Cristobal Mejia-Chaj. The two allegedly led one of the largest human smuggling operations in the nation, involving 20,000 immigrants.
- Meanwhile, José Paxtor-Oxalj was arrested in connection to a deadly car crash in Oklahoma that killed seven migrants living in the country illegally. Helmer Obispo-Hernandez is facing additional charges for threatening a federal officer.
- All four defendants face charges related to smuggling, transporting, and harboring aliens, some of which carry the death penalty.
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The Justice Department announced the arrests of two Guatemalan nationals. They are accused of leading “one of the largest human smuggling organizations in the United States.”
A third Guatemalan national, working on behalf of the two alleged ring leaders, was also arrested in connection to a deadly November 2023 car crash in Oklahoma. It resulted in the deaths of seven migrants living in the country illegally.
Alleged ring leaders arrested near downtown Los Angeles
Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul, 51, and his alleged “right-hand man,” 49-year-old Cristobal Mejia-Chaj, were arrested Friday, Feb. 28, near downtown Los Angeles.
Federal prosecutors say the two orchestrated a smuggling ring that moved approximately 20,000 Guatemalan immigrants across the U.S. southern border to various destinations in the U.S.
The Justice Department says the operation spanned more than five years, from 2019 through July 2024. During that time, Renoj-Matul and Mejia-Chaj allegedly brought the immigrants to the U.S. and held some of them in stash houses if they did not pay their dues.
The indictment alleges that the defendants accepted payments ranging from $15,000 to $18,000 for each immigrant smuggled into the country.
Fatal Oklahoma car crash linked to smuggling operation
José Paxtor-Oxalj, working on behalf of Renoj-Matul and Mejia-Chaj, is accused of being the driver in a fatal Oklahoma car crash. Prosecutors say he was transporting migrants living in the country illegally from New York to Los Angeles when he caused a crash that killed seven people, including three children.
During the alleged offenses, the Justice Department says all the defendants were living illegally in the United States.
Paxtor-Oxalj had previously been removed from the country in 2010 and did not have permission to re-enter, according to the Justice Department.
Charges and further arrests
According to Justice Department documents, all four defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States, transporting aliens in the United States and harboring aliens in the United States for private financial gain, which resulted in death.
Two of the defendants are also charged with two counts of hostage-taking.
In addition to those charges, a fourth man, 41-year-old Helmer Obispo-Hernandez, is charged with threatening to cut off the heads of a federal officer and members of his family. That threat allegedly occurred while law enforcement conducted a search warrant Friday in connection with the human smuggling ring.
“These smuggling organizations have no regard for human life, and their conduct kills,” said acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “Their members pose a danger to the public and law enforcement. We must vigorously enforce our immigration laws so that these organizations cannot operate.”
The defendants were arraigned Friday and ordered to stand trial April 22. If convicted of all charges, the defendants could face life in prison or the death penalty.
