2 leaders of a group suspected of bringing 20,000 immigrants to spend in Los Angeles

LOS Angeles (AP) – The Los Angeles Federal Authorities arrested two alleged leaders of a criminal organization suspected of bringing 20,000 people from Guatemala to the United States and to invoice each person up to $ 18,000 to bring them into the country.

Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul, known as “Turko”, and his lieutenant, Cristobal Mejia-Chaj, were placed on Friday. They have each pleaded not guilty to several charges related to the smuggling of migrants across the five -year border, said the American prosecutor’s office.

A federal judge ordered men who are themselves in the country illegally, imprisoned without surety until their trial in April.

The accusation act appoints Renoj-Matul at the head of one of the largest human smuggling organizations in the United States, a large ring operating for at least a dozen years which have mainly transported people to the United States since Guatemala.

The criminal network was responsible for the death of seven immigrants without legal status – including a 4 -year -old child – who was killed in a vehicle accident in November 2023 in Oklahoma, prosecutors said.

A driver who is in Oklahoma detention from this crash, Jose Paxtor-Oxlaj, was also charged in the indictment in California, according to court documents. Another man, Helmer Obispo-Hernandez, a lieutenant of the organization and supervisor of a team of drivers, also faces accusations. He would be in Guatemala, officials said.

The lawyers of the four men could not be located on Monday to comment.

Renoj-Matual was assisted by Guatemala partners who have asked people who each paid between $ 15,000 and $ 18,000 to be introduced as a smuggling in the United States by Mexico, prosecutors said.

For additional costs, migrants were transported and moved to various destinations in the United States, including Los Angeles and Phoenix. According to prosecutors, some of the migrants who could not pay the fees were held hostage in a reserve near downtown Los Angeles.

“These smuggling organizations have no respect for human life and their conduct kills,” said the acting prosecutor of the United States, Joseph T. McNally, in a press release. “The indictment and arrests here have dismantled one of the largest and most dangerous smuggling organizations in the country.”

If they are found guilty of all accusations, the defendants could incur a maximum sentence of death or at maximum perpetuity.

Originally published: March 3, 2025 at 3:55 pm PST