5 charged after fatal smuggling near San Diego; Noem is looking for a death penalty

San Diego (tnnd) – Five Mexican citizens were charged after a small boat with more than a dozen migrants off the coast of San Diego, at least three people, including a 14-year-old boy from India, were killed, according to the US public prosecutor in the southern district of California.

Witnesses described that, according to court records, there was a overturned Panga boat on a beach in del Mar on Monday. Spectators and San Diego rescue swimmers took part in search efforts.

The prosecutors confirmed that the boy's parents and two more were taken to the hospital after the event of the human smuggling. Nine other migrants were initially missing in the boat and suspected dead, but eight were later found in Chula Vista by border protection officers. A 10-year-old Indian girl, the boy's sister, is still missing.

“The drowning deaths of these children are a heartbreaking memory of how few human retailers are interested in the costs of their deadly business,” said US lawyer Adam Gordon.

According to Border Patrol, there were originally 16 people on board the boat.

Julio Cesar Zuniga Luna and Jesus Juan Rodriguez Leyva were arrested and accused of the beach on Monday to bring in aliens, which led to death and brought in to the financial profit, the US law firm said.

Three other suspects, Melissa Jenelle Cota, Gustavo Lara and Sergio Rojas-Fregosa, were arrested late Monday when agents in Chula Vista recognized a vehicle that, according to prosecutors, was seen on the beach in Del Mar.

Cota, Lara and Rojas-Fegoso were charged with transportation of illegal extraterrestrials. The public prosecutor added that Rojas-Fregoso had previously been deported on December 19, 2023.

Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Ministry of Homeland, announced on Tuesday that she will ask the Ministry of Justice to apply for the death penalty.

“Her death was not only avoidable, but was also the direct result of the greed and indifference of smugglers who used it. Sezlschmuggel is not only illegal – it is a violent and naturally dangerous crime,” said Noem. According to the law on immigration and nationality laws, extraterrestrial smuggling negotiations that lead to death, capital crimes that can be punished with death. And in accordance with the law on the death penalty of the federal government, those who intentionally participate in behavior can know that it can lead to loss of life, possibly for the death penalty. “

The authorities said beforehand that it was not clear where the boat came from before turning.