A Mexican national extradited from Mexico was sentenced on June 15, to 87 months prison for his role in a smuggling organization that operated for several years at the U.S.-Mexico border. According to the indictment, Raul Saucedo-Huipio, 51, of Mexicali, Mexico, and co-conspirators facilitated the travel of large numbers of aliens from and through numerous countries into the United States between 2018 and 2022.
The smuggling organization charged the aliens as much as tens of thousands of dollars to illegally cross the Mexico-U.S. border. Saucedo-Huipio was a manager or supervisor in this extensive alien smuggling operation and would frequently brandish a firearm in his waistband before they crossed the border.
The aliens traveled from and through Bangladesh, Yemen, Pakistan, Eritrea, India, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Russia, Egypt, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico to ultimately reach the United States. The conspiracy moved well over 200 people, and the actual number is likely much higher.
“Human smuggling is not a victimless crime. It is a direct assault on our national security and an exploitation of some of the world’s most vulnerable people,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This criminal organization not only moved aliens across the border; it stole from them and left them in desperate situations. Human smuggling causes so many additional problems that communities and government programs ultimately inherit. It is dangerous and a drain on our resources.”
Saucedo-Huipio and co-conspirators directed aliens to cross the border by various means. They provided a ladder to climb over the border fence, pointed out holes in the fence that could be crawled through, and provided a plank for waterway crossings. Saucedo-Huipio oversaw one smuggling event where three small children had to cross a wooden plank lying atop a body of water. In addition to moving aliens across the border, Saucedo-Huipio and his co-conspirators also robbed the aliens of money, cell phones, and other belongings, often while armed with guns and knives.
In March 2023, Saucedo-Huipio and Ofelia Hernandez-Salas were arrested in Mexico pursuant to an extradition request from the United States. In December 2024, Hernandez-Salas pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to bring an alien to the United States and three substantive counts of bringing an alien to the United States for commercial benefit or private financial gain. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison on May 13 for her role in the organization. In March 2026, Saucedo-Huipio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring an alien to the United States and bringing an alien to the United States.
“Violent human smugglers like Saucedo-Huipio use intimidation, violence and coercion to achieve their goals – financial gain no matter the harm caused,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)