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The 42-year-old leader of a smuggling organization and five others were sentenced to prison for conspiring to smuggle people illegally present in the United States, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
Saul Torres-Martinez, also known as Cobra, pleaded guilty July 6, 2021, along with 41-year-old Luis Esteban Martinez, of Alamo, 26-year-old Robert Hernandez, of Fresno, 39-year-old Noemi Silva, of Wimauma, Florida, as well as 32-year-old Ernesto Mata Pioquinto and 31-year-old Marcelino Navarro Sanchez, who are both from Mexico.
Torres-Martinez was found to be the leader of the organization and was sentenced to over nine years in federal prison, according to a press release.
Silva and Martinez were both sentenced to over seven years in prison while Pioquinto and Sanchez were given a four-year sentence. Meanwhile, Hernandez was sentenced to over three years in prison.
Since Torres-Martinez, Pioquinto and Sanchez aren’t U.S. citizens, they are expected to face removal proceedings following the completion of their sentences.
During sentencing, Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane noted the severity of the offense and voiced his concern regarding the harm Torres-Martinez caused to the community.
“Human smuggling organizations simply don’t care,” Alamdar S. Hamdani, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said in the press release. “They do not see the migrants they transport as human beings but rather as currency. As a result, when you put yourselves in these criminals’ hands you risk exposing yourself to extreme danger or even death.”
The approximate two-year investigation into human smuggling in the Rio Grande Valley resulted in the apprehension of six members of the “Cobra” organization.
“According to law enforcement, the smuggling network was responsible for more [than] 100 undocumented individuals from the Mexican border to Houston from 2018 to 2019,” the release said.
Further evidence showed that members of “Cobra” were responsible for a smuggling fatality and an alleged sexual assault of smuggled individual.
