A Salvadoran national has received a 10-year federal prison sentence for involvement in a fatal human smuggling operation that occurred in 2021, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas on Tuesday.
The office reported, referencing court documents, that Juan Alonso Barrientos-Quintanilla, 23, has been identified as one of 12 undocumented noncitizens who escaped from a Ford F-150 linked to the smuggling operation.
Authorities reported that the Ford was halted close to the location of a deadly accident on Highway 277 on March 15, 2021, while trying to smuggle 20 undocumented individuals into the United States.
A second vehicle, a Dodge Ram operated by codefendant Sebastian Tovar, was involved in a crash while trying to escape law enforcement, as reported by the office.
The office has confirmed that the collision resulted in the deaths of eight out of nine undocumented passengers in Tovar’s truck, with one other passenger seriously injured. Additionally, two U.S. citizens in the vehicle that was hit in the head-on crash also sustained injuries.
The office reported that U.S. Border Patrol (BP) agents came across the Ford F-150 halted in traffic close to the crash site.
According to reports, when BP agents instructed the driver of the Ford to turn around, all passengers quickly exited the vehicle and ran into the nearby brush.
Officials reported that BP agents subsequently detained 12 undocumented noncitizens, confirming that the individuals in both vehicles were involved in the same smuggling operation.
Barrientos-Quintanilla first stated that he was among the undocumented noncitizens being smuggled, but he subsequently confessed to being the driver of the vehicle, as reported by the office.
Barrientos-Quintanilla has pleaded guilty to a serious charge. On July 23, 2023, the U.S. attorney’s office reported that he admitted to one count of aiding and abetting the transportation of undocumented noncitizens, which resulted in death.
