Mexicali woman sentenced to 11 years in Arizona human smuggling case

A Mexican woman who prosecutors say helped run a years-long human smuggling operation at the Arizona-Mexico border has been sentenced to 11 years in federal prison.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Ofelia Hernandez Salas, 64, of Mexicali, was sentenced for her role in a smuggling conspiracy that brought migrants from countries across Asia, the Middle East and Latin America into the United States through Arizona.

According to court records and an indictment, Hernandez Salas and others charged migrants thousands of dollars to cross the border illegally.

“In human trafficking, it really treats people as a commodity,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Tim Courchaine told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show. “They are nothing more than cargo and something to be made money off of.”

How the human smuggling operation worked, according to prosecutors

Prosecutors said the operation moved hundreds of people from countries including Bangladesh, Yemen, Pakistan, India, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico.

Authorities said smugglers provided ladders to climb over fencing, directing them through holes under the barrier and creating a makeshift bridge out of planks to cross waterways.

Prosecutors also said members of the smuggling group robbed migrants of money, cell phones and other belongings, often while armed with guns or knives.

Hernandez Salas pleaded guilty in December 2024 to one count of conspiracy to bring an alien to the United States and three counts of bringing an alien into the country for commercial benefit or private financial gain.

She will be subject to deportation after serving her sentence, the Justice Department said in a news release.

Her co-defendant, Raul Saucedo-Huipio, was indicted with her in 2021 and arrested in Mexico in 2023. He has also pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced in June, according to the Justice Department.

Hernandez Salas and Saucedo-Huipio were arrested in Mexico and extradited to face charges in Arizona.

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