Human smuggler sentenced to ten years in prison in Arizona

Lina PortmanMay 30, 2024

0 1 minute read

A woman who pleaded guilty to human trafficking was sentenced Tuesday to ten years in prison.

Authorities said Maria Mendoza-Mendoza, 52, headed a smuggling organization that smuggled more than 100 migrants from Honduras to the United States and held them in hideouts in Phoenix until that they pay their expenses.

Officials said Mendoza-Mendoza threatened violence, including bleeding a guide as punishment and throwing a family into the desert that could not pay their way. Court documents indicate Mendoza-Mendoza was cold toward at least one co-conspirator, telling them they didn't care if they were lynched.

Mendoza-Mendoza was indicted in January 2018 and extradited from Honduras to the United States in June 2023.

“Today’s sentence is the latest example of the excellent work of Joint Task Force Alpha, which we launched nearly three years ago to hold the most prolific and successful human trafficking groups accountable. the most dangerous, and who has obtained more than 240 convictions to date”, declared the Attorney General. Merrick Garland said. “This defendant exploited vulnerable migrants for her own gain, risking their lives and our national security. Working with our partners in the federal government, the Department of Justice will continue its efforts to dismantle and disrupt human smuggling networks like those operated by the defendant.

Lina Portman

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