5 charged in 'human smuggling operation' after boat incident leaves 3 dead
Prosecutors have charged five Mexican nationals in what the Department of Homeland Security called a "human smuggling operation" that left three people dead. The smuggling ring was discovered after a panga boat washed ashore near San Diego, California, on Monday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Three dead bodies and four survivors in need of medical care were discovered with the boat, the United States Coast Guard said, adding that another nine people were unaccounted for at the time.
"This was a mass casualty incident," Encinitas Deputy Fire Chief Jorge Sanchez said on Monday.
The deceased include a 14-year-old from India whose 10-year-old sister was reported lost as sea and is presumed dead, according to the Department of Justice. His parents survived, but the incident left his father in a coma and his mother hospitalized, the DOJ said in a statement on Tuesday.
Eight of the nine missing individuals were later found when some of the individuals involved with the smuggling event were located and arrested, the DOJ said, leaving only the 10-year-old unaccounted for as of Monday night -- at which point the Coast Guard's search was suspended.
The individuals accused of illegally transporting migrants are Julio Cesar Zuniga Luna, 30; Jesus Juan Rodriguez Leyva, 36; Melissa Jenelle Cota, 33; Gustavo Lara, 32; and Sergio Rojas-Fregosa, 31, the DOJ said.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is requesting that the Justice Department seek the death penalty for Luna and Leyva -- the two charged for their involvement with transporting migrants for financial gain and the resulting deaths.
"This tragedy is a stark reminder of the inhumanity and lethal danger inherent to human smuggling at sea," Noem said in a statement on Tuesday. "Their deaths were not only avoidable but were also the direct result of the greed and indifference of smugglers who exploited them. Maritime smuggling is not just illegal—it is a violent and inherently dangerous crime. Those who knowingly place human lives at grave risk in furtherance of such crimes must be held fully accountable."
The boat is presumed to have overturned before it washed onto a beach in Del Mar, about 20 miles north of San Diego, the Coast Guard said.
Several local agencies joined in to help with the initial search for the missing individuals who had been aboard.
"We do have air resources that are sweeping lateral, north and south of the beach," Sanchez said on Monday. "We do have lifeguards in the water on boats and jet skis, and we have several resources walking up and down the beach as well, making sure that no one is missed."
The three dead victims were all males, the medical examiner's office told San Diego ABC affiliate KGTV. Their names and ages have not been released.
The four initial survivors -- three females and one male -- were transported to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla by ambulance and to be treated for respiratory-related issues, the hospital said in a statement. Of the survivors, three are in their 30s and one is a teenager, the hospital added.
“Human smuggling, regardless of the route, is not only illegal but extremely dangerous. Smugglers often treat people as disposable commodities, leading to tragic and sometimes deadly consequences, as we saw in this case,” said Shawn Gibson, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego. “Yesterday's heartbreaking events are a stark reminder of the urgent need to dismantle these criminal networks driven by greed."
ABC News' Jeffrey Cook, Tristan Malugnog, Luke Barr and T. Michelle Murphy contributed to this report.
