EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – A federal jury in El Paso convicted a Venezuelan national of conspiracy to harbor undocumented migrants, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas said in a news release.
Marcel Eliezer Zapata Zapata-Colmenarez, 26, opened the door of his residence on Jan. 30 to find agents from the U.S. Border Patrol and other federal law enforcement agencies present, according to court documents and evidence presented at trial.
The Attorney’s Office said that with Zapata-Colmenarez’s consent, the agents entered and searched the residence, finding piles of clothes on the floor, wet and muddy clothing hanging in a closet, and other signs consistent with harboring and smuggling undocumented migrants.
Zapata-Colmenarez also granted consent for agents to search his cell phone, leading to the discovery of proof-of-life videos — videos sent by recently-crossed undocumented migrants acknowledging that they had been smuggled with the assistance of a smuggling network, the Attorney’s Office said.
The Attorney’s Office said Zapata-Colmenarez later admitted that he accepted an offer to harbor undocumented migrants in his apartment and was paid $50 per migrant.
Zapata-Colmenarez was arrested Jan. 30 and indicted a month later for one count of conspiracy to harbor undocumented migrants and one count of harboring undocumented migrants for financial gain, the Attorney’s Office said.
The Attorney’s Office said Zapata-Colmenarez’s sentencing hearing is currently scheduled for Aug. 26, and he faces up to 10 years in federal prison along with a fine of up to $250,000.
The U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case with assistance from the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Wisniewski and Mathew Engelbaum are prosecuting the case, according to the news release.
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