VICTORIA, Texas — A Mexican national with ties to a human smuggling organization responsible for smuggling more than 50,000 noncitizens into the United States was sentenced Nov. 4 to 42 months in federal prison for conspiring to smuggle noncitizens into the country.
The investigation that led to the conviction and sentence was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston, with assistance from HSI McAllen, the U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Texas Office of the Attorney General, and Sheriff’s offices in Victoria, Goliad, Montgomery, Duval, and Lavaca Counties.
Gustavo Alaniz-Villa, a 25-year-old Mexican national, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 42 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by 3 years of supervised release for knowingly and intentionally conspiring to transport undocumented noncitizens within the United States. Alaniz-Villa pleaded guilty to the charges Oct. 2, 2023.
“The human smuggling organization that this individual worked for is responsible for smuggling more than 50,000 noncitizens into the United States and has been tied to the death of at least one migrant and the sexual assault of 200 others,” said HSI Houston acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Kurtz. “It’s not uncommon for smuggling organizations to prey on the desperation and vulnerability of the migrants who entrust them with their care by sexually assaulting them or subjecting them to sex trafficking or forced labor. Working closely with our partners, we were able to dismantle this organization and hold this human smuggler accountable to put an end to this vicious cycle of human suffering.”
The investigation began March 9, 2021, when the Victoria County Sheriff’s Office encountered two vehicles during a suspected human smuggling attempt in Victoria County that resulted in a bailout and the arrest of four suspected human smugglers. Further investigation led authorities to identify Alaniz-Villa and confirm that he had smuggled hundreds of noncitizens into the United States for the Teteca human smuggling organization — a transnational criminal organization responsible for smuggling more than 50,000 noncitizens into the United States that has been linked to the death of at least one migrant and the sexual assault of more than 200 other migrants.
An arrest warrant was issued July 21, 2023, for Alaniz-Villa’s arrest. Alaniz-Villa, who was already in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston for immigration violations, was transferred into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service Aug. 2, 2023, pursuant to the arrest warrant. Alaniz-Villa has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since that time and will continue to remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prison facility to be determined in the near future.
To date, HSI’s investigation into the Teteca human smuggling organization has resulted in 47 federal indictments and 45 criminal convictions.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas is prosecuting the case.
For more news and information on HSI’s efforts to aggressively investigate human smuggling and human trafficking in Southeast Texas follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @HSIHouston.