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A national from the Dominican Republic was sentenced to nine years in prison last week for his role in a fatal human smuggling operation in Puerto Rico.
As per court filings, Alcibades de Paz, 34, was one of the individuals operating a vessel transporting non-citizens, including a three-year-old child, from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico. The defendant was in charge of navigating the boat during this human trafficking endeavor.
When the boat experienced mechanical failure, the defendant assisted in restarting the engine and maneuvering the throttle of the boat’s outboard engine toward the shore of Rincón while avoiding attempts by law enforcement to safely stop the vessel.
On December 23, 2022, the boat capsized as it approached the shore, leading to the tragic death of a three-year-old child who was smuggled into the United States.
On August 27, de Paz entered a guilty plea to a charge of bringing certain aliens into the United States, resulting in death. Besides his prison sentence, de Paz is also required to complete three years of supervised release.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow for the District of Puerto Rico; and Special Agent in Charge Rebecca González-Ramos of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Juan announced the news.
HSI San Juan carried out the investigation in collaboration with the Puerto Rico Police Bureau’s Joint Forces of Rapid Action and the U.S. Border Patrol, Ramey Sector.
Trial Attorney Marie Zisa from the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Emelina M. Agrait-Barreto for the District of Puerto Rico were responsible for prosecuting the case.
The case was investigated under the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, a collaborative effort between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI. The ECT program zeroes in on human smuggling networks that may pose specific national security or public safety threats or serious humanitarian issues. ECT dedicates resources for investigation, intelligence gathering, and prosecution, and it collaborates with various U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement entities.
