Two brothers pleaded guilty Aug. 25 to transportation of undocumented persons that ended in death for three sisters who died in Feb. while being smuggled through the backcountry mountains in a snowstorm.
Cecilio Rios-Quinones, 38, and Ricardo Rios-Quinones, 23, both of Chihuahua, Mexico, will be sentenced Nov. 13 before U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Bencivengo.
Juana Santos Arce, Margarita Santos Arce, and Paula Santos Arce, died after experiencing hypothermia in the remote, mountainous region during a snow storm on Feb. 10.
The sisters all lived in Oaxaca, Mexico, but did not have proper clothing, shoes, food, or equipment to hike in the rugged Laguna Mountains in East County.
Border Patrol agents from the Boulevard and Campo area responded to a distress call and found two sisters lying dead near a large boulder on a ridge, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
A third sister was rushed to a hospital, but she died. The cause of death for all three women was environmental hypothermia.
The brothers were foot guides. Someone made a distress call to the Boulevard Border station and both brothers pointed agents to the direction of where the sisters were, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
“These three young woman lost their lives in horrible circumstances, despite the heroic efforts of many who tried to save them,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Brewster.
“This is a tragedy that never should have happened,” said Brewster. “Unfortunately, migrant deaths are not uncommon because selfish smugglers don’t hesitate to place vulnerable victims in grave danger to make money.”
“We will deliver justice to these callous smugglers who value their pay day over human lives,” said Brewster.
The brothers also pleaded guilty to bringing in aliens for financial gain and to conspiracy. They face a maximum sentence of life in federal prison. They both remain behind bars.
The woman were aged 35, 32, and 29. The youngest sister was the mother of a young child.
“These young women suffered and died at the hands of smugglers who never saw them as people, but only as commodities that could be exploited,” said Aaron Heitke, the sector chief of the Border Patrol.
“Human smugglers are driven by greed, prey on the desperate, and demonstrate a blatant disregard for human life, as demonstrated by this senseless tragedy,” said Cardell T. Morant, of Homeland Security Investigations.
