Erica Aracely Carmona, 36, of San Antonio, was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $955,350 for her role in a human smuggling operation that led to a migrant’s death. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death. Authorities said she coordinated payments and drivers with co-conspirators in Mexico and bought a property in Von Ormy used as a drop-off site for migrants, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
Trailer Drop-Off, One Death, and a Von Ormy Stash Site
According to federal authorities, the conspiracy turned deadly on May 25, 2021, when a driver hauled a tow-behind trailer packed with undocumented migrants to San Antonio. By the time the load arrived, one person was near death and died about an hour later.
Co-conspirators allegedly dumped the body in a ditch a few miles from the Von Ormy property that Carmona had purchased with smuggling proceeds. Days later, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office recovered the body and an identification card at the scene, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Hundreds Smuggled, Millions Made, and Long Sentences
The Justice Department said the smuggling organization moved more than 500 people and pulled in more than $4.7 million in proceeds between January 2021 and July 2022. The group used custom tow-behind trailers and a retrofitted tractor-trailer with a false compartment that was eventually interdicted by law enforcement.
Co-defendants have already been sentenced, including Evan John Herrera to 151 months and Miguel Angel Rivera to 216 months in federal prison. Two other defendants are scheduled for sentencing in March, the U.S. Attorney’s Office noted on X.
Feds Call Out Cartels as ‘Deadly Threat’
“Alien smuggling organizations and Mexican cartels will always value profit over human lives,” U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons said in the office’s statement. Acting Special Agent in Charge John A. Pasciucco of HSI San Antonio called the loss of life “a stark reminder that human smuggling is not just a crime—it is a deadly threat.”
ICE Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation with help from U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and the Maverick County Sheriff’s Office.
Operation Take Back America Rolls On
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner prosecuted the case in Del Rio, where Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses handed down the sentence. Federal prosecutors said the case falls under Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative targeting cartels and other transnational criminal organizations.
