A grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico has indicted a Dominican national for multiple crimes related to human smuggling that resulted in the death of a minor child.
Alcibades De Paz was the captain of a boat that carried about 39 non-American citizens in an attempt to enter Puerto Rico illegally. The plan to smuggle people from the Dominican Republic to the United States involved using Puerto Rico’s west coast, according to court records. While law enforcement, including the Puerto Rico Police Bureau marine unit (Fuerzas Unidas de Rápida Acción, FURA), attempted to intercept the suspected vessel, De Paz is said to have been the engine operator. The boat capsized before it could reach the coast.
“Transnational human smuggling and trafficking networks pose a serious criminal threat,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico W. Stephen Muldrow said, according to the Department of Justice. “Our office will prosecute those who illegally smuggle individuals into the United States and routinely place these migrants’ lives in danger. We will continue efforts to disrupt and dismantle smuggling networks that abuse, exploit, or endanger migrants, and pose serious national security threats.”
One of the 39 passengers was a 3-year-old who was found unconscious in the water. He was taken to a hospital for treatment, but after failed attempts at resuscitation, he was pronounced dead. Also on the boat was the child’s mother, who claimed to be of Haitian descent.
The others on board were Dominican, Haitian, and Afghan nationals. They were detained and taken to the Ramey Border Patrol Station for additional processing, investigation, and removal procedures, but one of the illegal immigrants, a Dominican citizen, escaped in the underbrush.
Purpose of the Grand Jury Trial
A grand jury is empaneled by a court when prosecutors deem it necessary to investigate potential criminal conduct and determine whether there is probable cause to believe that a person or entity has committed a crime. The jury members will hear evidence from a variety of sources, including witnesses, law enforcement officials, and experts in the field.The use of a grand jury in the indictment process is rooted in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the United States Constitution, which provide for the right to a grand jury and the right to a fair trial. The use of grand juries is not mandatory, some states do not use grand juries, and federal criminal proceedings also have the option of using a different process known as a “probable cause hearing” instead.
Other Human Smuggling Indictments
Puerto Rico isn’t alone in its fight against human trafficking as Immigration and Customs Enforcement reporting on Jan. 17 that a smuggler admits to a conspiracy that resulted in two deaths.Melvin L. Barahona-Godoy, 27, of Guatemala, and Yoryi Alexis Perez, 33, of the Dominican Republic, led several people to the Rio Grande river on Sept. 21, 2017, according to court documents. Two noncitizens drowned while attempting to cross into the United States, and their bodies were discovered along the riverbank.
Perez-Perez, who had returned to the Dominican Republic, was the subject of the investigation. He oversaw the organization’s U.S. branch of the operation and was in charge of noncitizens’ transportation into the country, harboring them in Laredo. He was eventually apprehended by authorities and extradited to the United States.
Perez-Perez will be held in jail pending a hearing. Godoy and Yoryi Alexis Perez were also charged in connection with the men’s transportation and harboring, among other allegations.