Texas resident pleads guilty to drugging Mexican children to smuggle them into the US

TEXAS - An El Paso resident pleaded guilty to federal charges related to a human smuggling operation that brought unaccompanied children as young as five across the U.S.-Mexico border, sometimes using candy laced with THC to sedate them during the process.

THC-Laced Candy

The Latest:

Manuel Valenzuela, 35, pleaded guilty on Nov. 6 to one count of conspiracy to transport aliens and three counts of aiding and abetting in the smuggling of aliens for profit, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas. Valenzuela faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 11 years in federal prison.

Human Smuggling Scheme

The backstory:

Valenzuela was arrested on Aug. 30 along with co-defendant Dianne Guadian, a U.S. citizen. The two, along with Mexican nationals Susana Guadian and Daniel Guadian, were charged in a five-count indictment on Sept. 24.

RELATED STORY: Suspects drugged Mexican children to smuggle them into U.S.: court documents

Court documents indicate that members of an alien smuggling organization illegally brought unaccompanied children, ages five to 13, from Juarez, Mexico, into the United States between approximately May 1 and Oct. 17, 2024.

The organization allegedly recruited drivers to transport the children to a port of entry, where they would present U.S. documents and falsely claim to be the children’s parents. Once inside the U.S., the children were transported to El Paso.

Valenzuela’s role in the scheme involved picking up the children after they were smuggled into the country and providing cash payments of $900 to the drivers for each minor, according to the complaint.

Authorities detailed a particularly disturbing aspect of the operation, noting that during at least one smuggling event, the children were given gummy candies containing marijuana to sedate them. One child was later taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with THC poisoning.

What they're saying:

"These defendants allegedly risked the lives of children by using drug-laced candy to keep them quiet while being smuggled into the United States," Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti said following the initial charges. "Targeting children in this way is especially dangerous and cruel."

The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations El Paso and U.S. Border Patrol. It is part of the Justice Department's Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) and Operation Take Back America initiatives, which target cartels and transnational criminal organizations involved in human smuggling and trafficking.

"When these cartels and the Alien Smuggling Organizations with which they partner see children, they see dollar signs," U.S. Attorney Simmons said previously. "This case shows that cartels and alien smuggling organizations care nothing for the wellbeing of the people they move into the United States. They only care about enriching themselves."

What's next:

A federal district court judge will determine Valenzuela’s final sentence at a later date after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.