SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Federal authorities sentenced five members of a South Texas human smuggling ring to decades in prison for kidnapping a family and sexually assaulting a pregnant woman while demanding ransom payments.
The case represents a major victory for Operation Take Back America, the Trump administration’s nationwide initiative targeting transnational criminal organizations. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents worked with Texas Department of Public Safety and multiple law enforcement agencies to dismantle the trafficking network operating in Kinney County. The investigation resulted in nine arrests total, with four additional defendants awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges.
Rodolfo Daniel De Hoyos, 22, nicknamed “Rufles,” received more than 14 years in federal prison Monday for conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens while causing serious bodily injury. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas announced the sentencing Tuesday, describing how De Hoyos participated in kidnapping a family consisting of a man, pregnant woman and seven-year-old child. Court documents show the smugglers sexually assaulted the pregnant woman and threatened to kill the child and sell the unborn baby unless additional ransom payments were made beyond the initial $1,000 they obtained from relatives.
The criminal enterprise operated with shocking brutality, according to federal prosecutors who detailed the systematic exploitation of vulnerable migrants. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers first arrested De Hoyos in 2021 after observing him transporting three passengers wearing dirty clothing, hiking boots and camouflage backpacks. He admitted the passengers were undocumented immigrants and confessed he was being paid $1,500 to transport them to Del Rio. Authorities arrested him again in August 2023 in connection with the family kidnapping case that ultimately exposed the broader smuggling network spanning multiple Texas counties.
Four other ring members received lengthy federal sentences reflecting the severity of their crimes. Juan Antonio Flores, 36, of Texas, was sentenced to more than 17 years for coordinating smuggling trips across the border region. Tomas Estrada-Torres, 47, received more than 12 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy. Nelson Abilio Castro-Zelaya was sentenced to 15 years for participating in the trafficking operation. Edwin Alfredo Barrientos-Mateo, 23, a Guatemalan national nicknamed “Waches,” received the harshest sentence of 30 years in federal prison for his leadership role in the smuggling network.
The investigation revealed how criminal organizations prey on desperate migrants seeking entry into the United States. U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons warned potential victims that smuggling networks view people only as profit opportunities. “Alien smuggling organizations care nothing about the hopes and dreams of those they smuggle,” Simmons said in a statement. “When they look at an illegal alien, all they see is a dollar sign. Do not trust them with your life because the only life they really care about is their own.” The case demonstrates the Trump administration’s renewed focus on dismantling human trafficking operations that exploit vulnerable populations while generating massive profits for criminal enterprises.
Law enforcement agencies from across Texas contributed to the successful prosecution, including ICE Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Border Patrol, Eagle Pass Police Department, Austin Police Department, Houston Police Department and Comal County Sheriff’s Office. The collaborative effort reflects the multi-jurisdictional nature of human smuggling operations that span state and federal boundaries. Simmons’ office simultaneously announced another major smuggling case, sentencing 36-year-old Mexican national Pedro Luis Martinez-Jaquez to more than 30 years in prison for leading a conspiracy that transported hundreds of undocumented immigrants and resulted in at least one death over an 18-month period.
Four remaining defendants in the De Hoyos case have entered guilty pleas and await sentencing in federal court. Ambar Obregon, Pedro Ruiz Gonzalez, Armando Garcia-Martinez and Anthony Ballones Jr. face potential decades in prison for their roles in the trafficking conspiracy. Federal prosecutors described Martinez-Jaquez as “one of the most prolific facilitators of alien smuggling in the last decade,” noting he earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from his criminal activities. The sentences send a clear message that human trafficking will face severe federal punishment under current immigration enforcement priorities.
The convictions highlight the dangerous reality facing migrants who trust their lives to criminal smuggling networks operating along the Texas-Mexico border. Both cases emerged from Operation Take Back America, launched by the Trump administration to achieve what officials call “total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations.” Federal authorities continue investigating related smuggling activities across South Texas, where criminal organizations exploit geographic advantages and established trafficking routes to move people and generate illegal profits from desperate families seeking better lives in America.
