The Plight Of The Dozens Of Migrants Who Were Left Stranded At Sea By Smugglers And Never Seen Again

Two Colombian nationals could be extradited for their role in the disappearance at sea of more than two dozens of migrants.

On Dec. 13, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against Hernando Manuel de la Cruz Rivera Orjuela, alias "El Patrón," and Luis Enrique Linero Pinto, two leaders of a group known as "La Agencia" is known for transporting migrants from the Colombian island of San Andrés to Nicaragua, where they then continued their journey to the U.S.

The route managed by La Agencia looked to bypass the Darien Gap, the treacherous jungle path connecting Colombia and Panama and used by hundreds of thousands of migrants to make their way up north. The group offered migrants what they described as a safer journey to Central America by boat instead of through the treacherous jungle.

But during one of those boat trips, a vessel carrying 40 migrants —a group mostly composed of Venezuelan nationals— and two boat captains disappeared at sea in October of 2023. More than a year later, the boat and its occupants are yet to be found.

The indictment that led to their arrest charges both Rivera Orjuela and Linero Pinto with conspiracy to induce undocumented immigrants to enter the United States while placing lives in jeopardy. Both Colombian nationals could face a lengthy time behind bars, as the felony carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

According to the indictment, the accused men advised facilitated travel by expediting false documents such as public school and property ownership records, as well as creating false social profiles for those looking to reach the U.S. Prosecutors also said they bribed members of the Colombian Naby and the Colombian immigration agency to allow the passage of boats carrying migrants from San Andrés to Central America and Mexico.

Despite the recent arrest of Rivera Orjuela and Linero Pinto, Colombian authorities had known about La Agencia for months. Last December, officials detained members of the group tasked with recruiting migrants and with promoting "trips" to the U.S. and Oceania, as well as one immigration officer who stamped visas for Ecuadorians and four naval officers who provided the criminals the location of patrol vessels and notified the criminal group of any special patrol operations.

Both suspects were arrested by Colombian authorities in coordination with the U.S. and its Joint Task Force Alpha. Since its creation in 2021 in an attempt to combat migrant smuggling, JTFA has arrested of over 345 smugglers and 290 convictions.

Apart from delivering a massive blow to the human smuggling organization by arresting two of its key figures, the capture of Rivera Orjuela and Linero Pinto are the first since JTSA was expanded to Colombia and Panama.

Nicole Argentier, head of the DOJ's Criminal Division, said that the indictments reflect "the importance" of JTFA's expansion to address human smuggling, while U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza said the allegations detailed in the indictment reflect the many dangers members of JTFA face "too often" such as bribery to the "deadly risks migrants take every day."

Although Joint Task Force Alpha was created during the Biden administration, analysts and experts believe it will likely continue and even further expand under the incoming Trump administration.