The U.S. Department of Justice logo is before a news conference, May 4, 2026, in Washington. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson
Three Mexican nationals have pleaded guilty to being part of a human smuggling operation that transported aliens from Mexico and Central and South America into the United States from Canada, U.S. officials say.
The three men were involved in an organization that smuggled hundreds of people into the United States, the U.S. Justice Department said in a press release this week.
The organization hired drivers to transport the illegal aliens deeper into the country after they reached American soil through Canada, the justice department said, without stating what parts of the U.S.-Canada border were used.
The defendants coordinated and took part in smuggling activities with other members of the syndicate, officials said.
“Human smuggling threatens our national security in multiple ways, including the risks to public safety that take place when alien smugglers further ignore our laws and lead agents on dangerous high-speed pursuits,” justice department Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said in the press release. “These defendants undermined the integrity of our border, disobeyed our traffic and public safety laws, and put ordinary citizens at risk.”
As an example, a van transporting illegal aliens was involved in a high-speed chase with border patrol agents in May 2023, the press release said. The agents had to end their pursuit because of the danger to the public. The van finally stopped after the sheriff’s department placed a tire deflation device in its path.
The justice department did not say if the three Mexican nationals were involved in the incident or had planned it.
Ignacio Diaz-Perez, 37, Samuel Diaz-Perez, 27, and Salvador Diaz-Diaz, 34, have each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and several counts of aliens smuggling for financial gain.
The three men, to be sentenced in November, face between five and 15 years in prison, the justice department said. Co-defendant Edgar Sanchez-Solis pleaded guilty to human smuggling charges in May and will be sentenced in September.
Homeland Security Investigations Deputy Executive Associate Director Matthew Millhollin said the case will send “a clear message” that those who profit from human smuggling will be held accountable.
“I have seen firsthand the dangers and tragedies that result from human smuggling operations,” he said. “Smugglers routinely put lives at risk, exposing vulnerable individuals to dangerous conditions, exploitation, and even death.”
The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Border Patrol in northern New York state.
