Member Of Vast International Alien Smuggling Organization Extradited From Mexico

The U.S. Justice Department released the information below:

A Mexican man made his initial appearance in court in Del Rio today after being extradited to Texas from Mexico to face charges relating to his role in an international alien smuggling organization.

In September 2023, a federal grand jury in the Western District of Texas returned an indictment against Efrain Zuniga-Garcia, 37, of Mexico, for conspiring to smuggle aliens from multiple countries into the United States for financial gain.

Beginning in November 2020 and continuing through September 2023, the defendant and others were part of a vast international alien smuggling organization (ASO) that illegally brought thousands of aliens from Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Columbia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Ecuador into the United States across the border with Mexico. The ASO operated stash houses in Monterrey, Mexico, and Piedras Negras, Mexico. A Pakistani smuggler based in Brazil originally contracted with aliens to enter the smuggling venture. In turn, this Brazilian-based smuggler worked with a San Antonio, Texas-based smuggler and Honduran national Enil Edil Mejia-Zuniga to facilitate travel of the aliens from South America to the United States. Mejia-Zuniga directed operations, as well as paid armed “coyotes,” load drivers, and stash house operators. According to court documents, Mejia-Zuniga admitted that the ASO smuggled between 2,500 to 3,000 aliens into the United States in just two years. Mejia-Zuniga stated the organization charged between $6,500 to $12,000 per alien, totaling approximately $16 to $30 million in financial gain.

Efrain Zuniga-Garcia operated the stash house in Monterrey and coordinated with other members of the ASO to transport aliens to the stash house and then into the U.S. illegally. The defendant worked with others to house aliens for a period, after which the aliens would meet foot guides, ‘coyotes’, who led them across the U.S.-Mexico border by crossing the Rio Grande River.

Zuniga-Garcia was arrested in Mexico in October 2024 at the request of the U.S. government. Zuniga-Garcia’s extradition was the result of extensive coordination and cooperation between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement authorities.

Zuniga-Garcia is charged with one count of conspiracy to bring illegal aliens to the United States and three counts of bringing in illegal aliens for profit. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison. Zuniga-Garcia’s co-defendant, Monica Hernadez-Palma was extradited to the United States from Mexico in January 2025. She pleaded guilty to smuggling offenses in April 2025 and is scheduled to be sentenced in November 2025. Defendant Mejia-Zuniga was sentenced in July 2025 to the statutory maximum of 120 months in prison.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting Special Agent in Charge Mark Lippa of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Antonio Field Office made the announcement.

HSI Del Rio led U.S. investigative efforts, working in concert with the HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force, and U.S. Border Patrol. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Zuniga-Garcia.

Trial Attorneys Jenna Reed and Bethany Allen of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) are prosecuting the case.

The indictment and extradition are the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) Program. JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been elevated and expanded with a mandate to target cartels and transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Canada, and the Caribbean. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border, the Northern District of New York, the District of Vermont, and the Southern District of Florida. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by HRSP and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Office of Enforcement Operations, and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 415 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 355 U.S. convictions; more than 305 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.