Federal prosecutors have arrested and indicted a number of foreign nationals associated with the “Lopez Crime Family” transnational criminal organization whom they allege had been operating an illegal alien smuggling business across New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
Last week, prosecutors announced that ten foreign nationals had been indicted by a federal grand jury, and six others were arrested as part of a two-year investigation into the Lopez Crime Family.
According to the indictment, 45-year-old Ronaldo Galindo Lopez-Escobar of Guatemala and his sister, 38-year-old Rosa Adriana Lopez-Escobar, led the Lopez Crime Family’s criminal operation where illegal aliens were smuggled across the United States-Mexico border and transported to the nation’s interior.
Border Report noted details from the indictment:
The indictment alleges that Uncle Roni coordinated the smuggling of Central Americans through Mexico and then the United States through southwestern New Mexico and other border enclaves. [Emphasis added]
Lopez Chilel, Lopez Perez, Vanegas Portillo, Chilel Ramirez, Chavez Hernandez and Rolando Cortez would transport and house undocumented migrants at Lopez Crime Family stash locations and, later, take them to their final destinations, the indictment alleges. [Emphasis added]
Deysi Marisela Lopez Ambrosio and Mildred Yanira Lopez Ambrosio would make peer-to-peer money transfers derived from smuggling fees to the various ring members on behalf of Uncle Roni, according to court documents. [Emphasis added]
The group allegedly has associates in Guatemala, Mexico, and the U.S. who work to recruit illegal aliens to smuggle, transport, keep in stash houses, and require electronic forms of payment from.
Other family members are accused in the indictment of transferring funds and funneling profits through bank accounts to evade law enforcement detection.
The foreign nationals each face up to ten years in federal prison if convicted, and many will be subject to deportation from the U.S.
