DEL RIO, Texas — A Honduran man unlawfully residing in the U.S. has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for operating a major alien smuggling network that moved thousands of individuals from more than 11 countries into the United States over a three-year period.
Enil Edil Mejia-Zuniga, also known as “Chino,” 34, of Olancho, Honduras, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court for his leadership role in the organization, which operated from November 2020 through March 2023. He will also serve three years of supervised release and pay a $4,500 fine after pleading guilty to three counts of bringing in aliens for financial gain and aiding and abetting.
Investigators with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Del Rio, in collaboration with other federal and state law enforcement agencies, uncovered that Mejia-Zuniga coordinated the smuggling of 2,500 to 3,000 aliens from countries including Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, India, Pakistan, and Colombia. The operation used routes through South America and Eagle Pass, Texas, often charging each person between $6,500 and $12,000.
According to court documents, aliens contracted with a smuggler in Brazil who worked with Mejia-Zuniga to move them to the U.S. He managed payments to drivers, armed escorts, and stash house operators. One smuggled individual reported paying $20,000 for passage into the U.S. and being housed in crowded stash locations in Monterrey and Piedras Negras before being guided across the Rio Grande by an armed coyote.
Supporting evidence included witness testimony, wire transfers, identification documents, customer records, and photographs of Mejia-Zuniga’s associates with firearms.
Mejia-Zuniga’s co-defendants—Monica Hernandez-Palma of Mexico, Allyson Elsires Alvarez-Zuniga of Honduras, and Genyi Arguenta-Flores of Honduras—have all entered guilty pleas. Arguenta-Flores was sentenced to five years in May. Another co-conspirator remains in custody in Mexico pending extradition.
The sentencing follows Operation Red Tide, an HSI-led investigation coordinated under Joint Task Force Alpha, which targets transnational human smuggling and trafficking networks across Central and South America.
A Honduran man who ran a cross-border smuggling ring moving thousands into the U.S. was sentenced to a decade in federal prison.