2 men sentenced to prison for deadly human smuggling operation

SANTA TERESA, N.M. (KVIA) -- Two people from Mexico were sentenced to federal prison for their roles as "foot guides" in a human smuggling operation that led to the death of a 26-year-old woman. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico said agents discovered the operation in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, U.S. Border Patrol agents in Santa Teresa found 13 undocumented migrants hiding in the desert after allegedly illegally entering the U.S. in August 2024.

Agents learned learned the woman, Evelyn Esmeralda Villalta-Marquez was left behind and needed medical attention. They later found her dead in the desert, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

The Office of the Medical Investigator said her cause of death was hyperthermia due to heat exposure.

During the investigation, agents determined 37-year-old Gustavo Joachin-Hernandez and 36-year-old Israel Gonzalez-Cruz acted as guides for the group and led the migrants for five and a half hours in the desert. The U.S. Attorney's Office said temperatures reached 97 degrees.

Joachin-Hernandez admitted Villalta-Marquez struggled to keep up with the group due to the heat. He said she was still alive but in bad shape when he left her behind to continue the smuggling operation, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

He also said he worked as a guide for a human smuggling operation since November 2023 and expected a payment of $2,000 pesos for each migrant he helped successfully smuggle to a stash house, officials said.

Joachin-Hernandez and Gonzalez-Cruz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport an undocumented migrant and were sentenced to 46 months in prison without parole.

Upon their release from prison, they will be subject to deportation, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

According to the U.S. Attonrey's Office, Joachin-Hernandez had been deported before.