2 extradited to U.S. on charges of drugging minors with THC gummies during smuggling scheme
Eagle Pass Border Patrol look over the Rio Grande scanning the area illegal traffic, February 06, 2003. (Photo by Shaul Schwarz/Getty Images)
EL PASO, Texas - Two Mexican nationals were arraigned in federal court after being extradited from Mexico to face charges of smuggling unaccompanied migrant children into the United States.
Details of the alleged border smuggling operation
(Photo by Alex Edelman/Getty Images)
What we know:
The Department of Justice announced that 51-year-old Susana Guadian and 51-year-old Daniel Gaudian, both of Juarez, Mexico, were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Western District of Texas on Sept. 24, 2025. The two are charged with conspiracy to transport migrants and charging to bring migrants into the United States illegally.
According to court documents, the two were part of a smuggling organization that transported children ages 5 to 13 from Mexico into the United States between May 1 and Oct. 17, 2024. The organization allegedly recruited drivers to transport the children by car to a U.S. port of entry. The drivers and other conspirators allegedly presented documents to border officers while falsely claiming the documents belonged to the children and that they were the children’s parents.
Children sedated with THC gummies
Dig deeper:
During at least one smuggling incident, the children were allegedly given gummy candies containing marijuana to sedate them. According to the news release from the DOJ, one child was even taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with marijuana poisoning.
THC gummies recovered by agents during secondary inspection at the port of entry
Prosecutors state that after entering the United States, the children were taken to El Paso where others picked them up and paid the drivers. The drivers were said to be paid $900 for each child they brought into the country.
Federal officials condemn "disturbing" abuse
What they're saying:
"Giving children cannabis-infused candy to sedate them is an especially disturbing abuse of their trust and safety," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan G. McRae of Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso.
"These defendants are charged with smuggling multiple children across the southern border. The allegations include that they risked the safety of children by giving them THC-laced gummies to sedate them while smuggling them from Mexico into the United States to avoid the children answering questions from border law enforcement," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Sentencing and next legal steps
What's next:
A co-defendant, Manuel Valenzuela, was sentenced July 1 to five years in federal prison for his role in the scheme.
Another co-defendant, Dianne Guadian, pleaded guilty on July 28.
The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations’ El Paso office and the U.S. Border Patrol.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by the U.S. Department of Justice.