After having been arrested last March pursuant to an extradition request from the United States, Ofelia Hernández Salas “La Lupe” or “Doña Lupe” was handed over on September 5 by Mexico to the United States authorities for the crime of human trafficking.
According to the United States Department of Justice, “Doña Lupe”, also linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, will face charges that had previously been filed in the District of Arizona.
“Assiduous coordination and cooperation efforts between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement authorities enabled the extradition of a human smuggler who allegedly operated for several years in Mexicali, on the U.S.-Mexico border, as part of an international human smuggling conspiracy,” US authorities reported.
Nicole M. Argentieri, Deputy Attorney General of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, noted that this extradition is the result “of the continued coordination between the Department of Justice and our Mexican law enforcement partners to bring smugglers of people to justice. who take advantage of the desperate situation of migrants and undermine the rule of law.”
According to court documents, Hernández Salas allegedly, with other human traffickers, facilitated the travel of a large number of migrants to the United States, from Bangladesh, Yemen, Pakistan, Eritrea, India, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Russia, Egypt, Brazil , Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico, among other countries.
Hernández-Salas and another implicated in the conspiracy, Raúl Saucedo Huipio, 48, allegedly charged thousands of dollars to carry out the trip and told the migrants where to illegally cross the border into the United States, “even providing them with a ladder.” to climb the fence at the border.”
Hernández Salas and the others involved are also accused of stealing money and personal belongings from migrants, using firearms and knives.
Last June, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury imposed the relevant sanctions on the transnational criminal organization of Hernández Salas. Saucedo Huipio remains in the custody of authorities in Mexico.
Source: El Universal
