Federal authorities in Los Angeles have arrested two key figures in a human smuggling organization accused of trafficking approximately 20,000 undocumented migrants from Guatemala to the U.S. over several years. Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul ('Turko') and Cristobal Mejia-Chaj face serious charges, with the latter's smuggling network implicated in multiple deaths, including that of a 4-year-old child in a recent crash. The organization's operations included extorting migrants, charging them hefty fees, and at times holding them hostage if they couldn't pay. Both men are being held without bond as their trial approaches.
The indictment names Renoj-Matul as the head of one of the largest human smuggling organizations in the U.S., operating for at least a dozen years.
The criminal network was responsible for the deaths of seven immigrants, including a 4-year-old child, killed in a vehicle crash in November 2023.
For an additional fee, the migrants were transported to various destinations in the U.S. Some who couldn’t pay were held hostage in a stash house.
Federal authorities revealed that each person was charged between $15,000 and $18,000 to be smuggled from Guatemala to the United States.
Collection
[
|
...
]