Major Guatemalan Human Smuggling Operation, One of Largest Ever, Busted in Arizona and California

Federal and local law enforcement officers have successfully taken down one of the biggest human smuggling operations in U.S. history.

The investigation, led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol, and Inglewood Police in California, resulted in the arrest of four ringleaders from Guatemala who were residing in the U.S. unlawfully.

These individuals were charged with orchestrating a massive smuggling network that brought approximately 20,000 Guatemalans into the country over a span of five years.

The ringleader, Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul, and his right-hand man, Cristobal Mejia-Chaj, were apprehended in the Westlake area of Los Angeles. Upon their arrest, they were arraigned and denied bond, with their trial scheduled for the following month.

Two additional individuals, Helmer Obispo-Hernandez and Jose Paxtor-Oxlaj, were also charged; Obispo-Hernandez remains a fugitive, while Paxtor-Oxlaj is currently incarcerated in Oklahoma.

Paxtor-Oxlaj was involved in a tragic incident in November 2023, causing a car accident in Elk City, Oklahoma, that killed seven people, including three minors.

This accident occurred during a smuggling operation as he was transporting illegal foreign nationals from New York to Los Angeles. He had previously been deported in 2010 but reentered the U.S. illegally as a “gotaway,” a term for those who evade capture at the border.

All four Guatemalans face charges of conspiracy to smuggle, transport, and harbor illegal aliens for financial gain, with their actions resulting in death.

Renoj-Matul and Mejia-Chaj also face charges of hostage-taking from an incident where they allegedly held two Guatemalan nationals captive for not paying their smuggling fees. The indictment reveals they threatened to kill the hostages until third parties paid for their release.

In a separate complaint, Obispo-Hernandez was accused of threatening an ICE officer and his family after search warrants were executed at his residence. This highlights the dangerous and violent nature of the smuggling operation.

The Renoj-Matul organization had been operational for over a decade, focusing on smuggling Guatemalans into the U.S. and transporting them primarily from Phoenix to Los Angeles.

Renoj-Matul’s associates in Guatemala allegedly charged between $15,000 and $18,000 to smuggle people into the U.S. Once in Mexico, cartel smugglers took over, guiding them through Mexico into Arizona. The smuggled individuals were often held in stash houses until Renoj-Matul’s lieutenants moved them to their final destinations.

For an extra fee, the smuggled individuals could be transported to various locations within the U.S., including Los Angeles. Those unable to pay were reportedly held hostage in houses in the Westlake neighborhood, awaiting payment. The smuggling ring also had a method to funnel proceeds from Los Angeles to Phoenix, ensuring that Mexican smugglers received their cut.

If found guilty of all charges, the four ringleaders could face the death penalty or life imprisonment. In addition to the main arrests, two other illegal foreign nationals connected to the Renoj-Matul organization were detained.

Rolando Gomez-Gomez, previously deported, was found in South Los Angeles, while Juan Lopez Garcia was apprehended in Downtown Los Angeles on a civil removal matter.

This massive smuggling operation was uncovered amidst reports of nearly one million Guatemalans entering the U.S. illegally during the Biden administration. The sheer scale of this operation underscores the ongoing challenges at the border and the need for stringent immigration enforcement. The dismantling of this network represents a significant victory for law enforcement agencies working tirelessly to maintain the integrity of U.S. borders.