(The Center Square) – Arrests and prosecutions of child smugglers and rapists continues in Texas through federal, state and local partnerships.
In Houston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and Harris County Sheriff’s deputies arrested two men who were wanted and accused of repeatedly raping one of the men’s 12-year-old-grandniece.
In El Paso and in south Texas, law enforcement officials are arresting and prosecuting adults using THC- and melatonin-laced gummies and food to sedate children they smuggle into the U.S. They’re also targeting cartel associates known for kidnapping and selling babies, The Center Square reported.
In Houston, authorities arrested Honduran national Felix Bustillo Diaz, 49, and Salvadoran national Jose Gerber-Rivera, 45, who were wanted and accused of repeatedly raping Bustillo’s 12-year-old grandniece. This was after her Honduran mother illegally smuggled her into the U.S. in 2014 under the Obama administration, ICE said.
Bustillo applied to be her sponsor through a federal program that oversees “unaccompanied alien children” (UACs) being smuggled into the U.S. The program is rife with fraud and abuse, according to multiple reports over the last few decades. ICE launched an initiative last week to perform welfare checks on hundreds of thousands of UACs, The Center Square reported.
Despite being in the country illegally and having a criminal conviction on his record, Bustillo applied for and was granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) by the Biden administration. The Trump administration terminated his TPS.
At one point, the girl escaped from Bustillo with the help of two Houston residents only to find herself in a worse situation, authorities said. The women, Brenda Garcia, 38, and Tania Garcia, 37, “falsely told her they were rescuing her from being sexually abused only to allegedly zip-tie, beat, torture and malnourish the minor and force her to perform manual labor for them,” ICE said. HSI Houston agents and Montgomery County Sheriff deputies arrested the women last month on several charges including felony injury to a child, unlawful restraint, and invasive visual recording.
Montgomery County constables helped take Rivera into custody in the Woodlands, north of Houston, on Nov. 4. ICE detained him on immigration violations at the Montgomery Processing Center but agreed to transfer him to Harris County, where he faces prosecution at the local level.
“The conduct uncovered in this investigation was both disturbing and inexcusable,” HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz said. “Our agents and partners worked tirelessly to ensure these individuals are brought to justice and held fully accountable for their crimes.”
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, who has previously opposed working with ICE, agreed, saying, “Arresting violent people who seek to prey on our most vulnerable residents is our top priority, and the allegations in this case are especially disturbing.”
“The details of this investigation are deeply disturbing and represent some of the most evil criminal behavior in our society,” Montgomery County Sheriff Wesley Doolittle said. “While the child is now safe, our mission is far from over. We will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to uncover all details of this investigation and ensure that justice is served.”
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office has signed an ICE 287(g) agreement through ICE’s Jail Enforcement Model; Gonzalez terminated the sheriff’s office previous agreements with ICE in 2017, The Center Square reported.
In another case, ICE arrested a Guatemalan for human trafficking and statutory rape. The 14-year-old UAC was pregnant with the sponsor’s baby, authorities said.
In another case in El Paso, a lawful permanent resident, Manuel Valenzuela, pleaded guilty to charges related to smuggling drugged children from Mexico into the United States.
According to court documents, members of an “alien smuggling organization” illegally smuggled UACs between the ages of five and 13 into the U.S. from Juarez, Mexico. They used candy laced with THC to sedate them while bringing them across, authorities said.
The drivers and their coconspirator used a common child smuggling method, authorities told The Center Square. They presented U.S. documents to U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspectors claiming they belonged to the children and also claimed they were the children’s parents. Both claims were false, authorities said. Once they made it into the U.S., they transported the UACs to El Paso. After one smuggling event, one of the children was taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with THC poisoning, authorities said.
Valenzuela’s role involved picking up the UACs after they were smuggled into El Paso and paying the drivers. He was arrested in August with a co-defendant, Dianne Guadian, a U.S. citizen. Valenzuela, Guadian and two other codefendants, Mexican nationals Susana Guadian and Daniel Guadian, were charged in a five-count indictment in September.
In the Western District of Texas, Valenzuela pleaded guilty last week to one count of conspiracy to transport aliens and three counts of aiding and abetting in the smuggling of aliens for profit. He faces a mandatory minimum of 11 years in prison.
