A Mexican man extradited to the United States has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a large-scale human smuggling operation that facilitated the illegal entry of thousands of migrants from around the globe, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Efraín Zúñiga-García, 38, entered the guilty plea on June 29 before a federal court in Texas. He admitted to charges of conspiracy to bring foreigners into the United States, illegal entry of an alien for financial gain, and aiding and abetting those offenses.
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Court documents and testimony revealed that Zúñiga was a key operative in an international trafficking network. Between November 2020 and September 2023, he managed safe houses in Monterrey and Piedras Negras, Mexico, and coordinated the transport of migrants to the U.S. border. The organization smuggled individuals from a wide range of countries, including Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Yemen, Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras.
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Zúñiga charged each migrant approximately $12,000 for the crossing. During his time with the organization, he admitted to smuggling between 2,500 and 3,000 people, generating illicit proceeds estimated between $16 million and $30 million.
As a result of his guilty plea, Zúñiga now faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, with a mandatory minimum of 3 years. His final sentence will be determined by a federal judge, who will take into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines as well as other statutory factors.
