LAREDO, Texas — Three more individuals are in custody for a human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in the July death of an undocumented noncitizen following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations Laredo.
The Laredo Gang Activity and Trafficking Enforcement Unit contributed to the investigation with significant assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol, the Laredo Police Department (including the Texas Anti-Gang Unit), the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Encinal Police Department and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations who conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation.
David Alejandro Gomez Flores 28, from Mexico and Dagoberto Misael Flores, 24, and Angel Misael Elias, 22, both from Laredo, made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher dos Santos Nov. 18. A federal grand jury returned the superseding indictment Oct. 29.
Previously charged and arrested were Guatemalan national Edy Ronaldo Lima Flores, 36, and Mexican nationals Cynthia Gabriela Muniz Carreon, 29, and Martha Angelica Limon Parra, 29.
According to court documents, the charges allege that on July 2, authorities learned of a group of undocumented noncitizens loading into a Ford-150 near a ranch in Laredo. They allegedly began pursuing the vehicle which suddenly came to a stop before all occupants fled into the brush. Law enforcement was able to apprehend one female, identified as an undocumented individual from Guatemala, according to the charges.
They also located the body of a deceased male in the brush, according to the criminal complaint originally filed in the case. Upon further investigation, authorities were allegedly able to identify him as an undocumented Guatemalan national who was part of the earlier bailout.
The charges further allege they recovered a cell phone in the victim’s possession which showed direct communications with both Lima Flores and Carreon in the hours leading up to his death. The victim had allegedly reported that a rancher had seen them, and that he was hiding the in brush.
Authorities also discovered ledgers and communications in Parra’s cell phone that linked back to the same human smuggling organization involved in the July 2 bailout event, according to the charges. The communications allegedly dated back to April 2024 and referenced other human smuggling events, one of which resulted in serious bodily injury to a separate individual.
All six are charged with conspiracy to smuggle an undocumented citizen, placing life in jeopardy, causing serious bodily injury and resulting in death and two substantive counts. They face up to life in federal prison and the possibility of death as well as a possible $250,000 fine, upon conviction.
This case is also the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). Attorney General Merrick B. Garland established JTFA in June 2021 to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department of Justice, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to combat the rise in prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The initiative was expanded to Colombia and Panama to combat human smuggling in the Darién in June 2024.
Assistant U.S. Attorney and JTFA detailee from the Southern District of Texas Jennifer Day is prosecuting this case.