A pair of Guatemalan men who allegedly operated one of the biggest human smuggling rings in the United States have been taken into custody in Los Angeles, California.
The arrests came on Friday when federal agents nabbed the suspects identified as Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul and Cristobal Mejia-Chaj, Fox News reported on Monday.
The men are accused of moving 20,000 illegal immigrants into the United States from their own country over the past few years.
In a statement following the arrests, acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally said such criminal organizations do not regard human lives, and their operations end up killing people.
He added, “The indictment and arrests here have dismantled one of the country’s largest and most dangerous smuggling organizations. This work saves lives, and the members of the organization will now face significant consequences.”
A judge has ordered both to be held without bond, and the Fox report noted that if they are convicted in the case, “they could each face the death penalty.”
The news comes after President Donald Trump’s administration began probing the dangerous lack of vetting when it came to migrant children while now former President Joe Biden (D) was in office. Biden’s administration apparently left thousands of those children vulnerable to illegal labor and sex trafficking exploitation, Breitbart News reported.
“The Trump administration is making major changes to the process to assure the safety of the children in its charge,” the outlet said.
Per the recent Fox article, authorities have charged two additional men in the human smuggling case. One was identified as Jose Paxtor-Oxlaj. He is currently in jail for his connection to a car crash that killed seven migrants.
The other man was identified as Helmer Obispo-Hernandez. He is reportedly the “lieutenant” working in the smuggling ring. An image shows Obispo-Hernandez:
Feds bust massive alleged Guatemalan human smuggling ring operating out of California https://t.co/Ytr1kSIv4l
— Richard K. Jones (@butlersheriff) March 3, 2025
“Obispo-Hernandez remains at large and faces additional charges for threatening to cut off the head of a Homeland Security Investigations officer who served a search warrant at his house on Friday,” the Fox article said.
Reno-Matul was reportedly the ringleader of the organization and worked with others in Guatemala to charge migrants between upwards of $18,000 to get them to the United States. However, the migrants were pressed for payment a second time when they arrived in order to be moved to numerous areas across the nation.
Migrants who could not or would not pay were reportedly held hostage at a Los Angeles residence.
In February, 8,326 migrants were recorded at the U.S.-Mexico border, Breitbart News reported on Saturday. In a social media post regarding the number, President Trump wrote:
The month of February, my first full month in Office, had the LOWEST number of Illegal Immigrants trying to enter our Country in History – BY FAR! There were only 8,326 apprehensions of Illegals by Border Patrol at the U.S. – Mexico Border, all of whom were quickly ejected from our Nation or, when necessary, prosecuted for crimes against the United States of America. This means that very few people came – The Invasion of our Country is OVER.
Trump noted that under Biden, there were 300,000 illegal aliens crossing the border in the span of a month and “virtually ALL of them were released into our Country.”
“Thanks to the Trump Administration Policies, the Border is CLOSED to all Illegal Immigrants. Anyone who tries to illegally enter the U.S.A. will face significant criminal penalties and immediate deportation,” he concluded.
