WASHINGTON, June 16 -- The U.S. Department of Justice's U.S. Attorney's office for XXXXXX (insert district) issued the following press release:
SAN DIEGO - Isaac Jimenez, a U.S. citizen and San Diego resident, pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting his role in an alien smuggling conspiracy that held would-be migrants hostage in Mexico while demanding ransom payments from distraught families who paid tens of thousands of dollars in vain.
As part of his plea, Jimenez acknowledged that he coordinated alien smuggling events that brought migrants to the United States from Mexico illegally for a price. Jimenez further admitted he collected ransom payments from family members of migrants who, instead of being smuggled into the U.S., we...