A Colombian smuggler’s guilty plea is shedding new light on a deadly route to the United States after a boat carrying 42 people vanished at sea and a top Justice Department official said the danger would not have ended if they reached land.
asserted
they → shed → land
Luis Enrique Linero Pinto, 41, also known as "El Calvo," pleaded guilty in federal court in El Paso, Texas, after being extradited from Colombia for his role in a smuggling conspiracy that prosecutors said used bribery and maritime routes to move migrants north.
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prosecutors → know → migrants
The boat left Colombia’s San Andrés Island for Nicaragua on Oct. 21, 2023, carrying approximately 40 migrants and two captains.
asserted
boat → leave → migrants
It never arrived, and no one aboard has been seen or heard from since.
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one → arrive → ?
"This was a particularly sad and disturbing situation," Assistant Attorney General Tysen Duva, who leads the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, told Fox News Digital.
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who → lead → Digital
"These 40 individuals and the two boat captains, once they set out from San Andrés Island to Nicaragua, were never heard from again," Duva said.
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Duva → set → Nicaragua
"These individuals are, of course, missing and presumed dead, and it appears that there were no survivors."
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it → miss → course
Duva said the disappearance offers a brutal look at the danger posed by transnational smuggling organizations that turn vulnerable migrants into commodities while pursuing routes toward the United States.
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that → say → States
"It’s all about money," he said.
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he → ’ → money
"Anybody who’s involved with a cartel or transnational smuggling in this regard, it is about money.
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it → involve → money
It’s about preying on people’s misfortune."
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It → ’ → misfortune
According to the Justice Department, Linero Pinto advised migrants on how to reach San Andrés Island, personally received them upon arrival, arranged their accommodations and transported them to boats bound for Nicaragua.
uncertain
Pinto → accord → Nicaragua
From there, the migrants intended to travel through Central America and Mexico before illegally entering the United States, prosecutors said.
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prosecutors → intend → States
Linero Pinto also bribed members of the Colombian Navy to obtain real-time intelligence about the positions of patrol vessels between San Andrés Island and Nicaragua, allowing smuggling boats to evade authorities, according to court documents.
uncertain
boats → bribe → documents
He admitted helping smuggle the migrants aboard the boat that vanished in October 2023.
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that → admit → October
Duva said the victims had not even completed the opening stretch of the dangerous route when they disappeared.
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they → say → route
"That’s the first leg.
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That → ’ → ?
They didn’t even finish the first leg here and get to Nicaragua and then try to come north by land," he said.
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he → finish → land
"It’s a really long journey, and it’s full of really bad things that can happen."
The danger, he warned, is not confined to the open water.
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he → ’ → water
Duva said migrants can face treacherous terrain while traveling through South and Central America and across the U.S.-Mexico border.
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migrants → say → border
Even those who reach the United States may be trapped by mounting debts and pushed into sex trafficking, he warned.
uncertain
he → reach → trafficking
"You pay money to come to the United States, and then when you get here, the co-conspirators or those involved in the criminal enterprise will say, ‘But now you owe more, and you’re going to work this off in the sex trade,’" Duva said.
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Duva → pay → trade
"Cross-border smuggling cases often times just morph right into human trafficking cases," he continued.
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he → morph → cases
"The crime sort of changes along the way.
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crime → change → way
The travelers are the ones victimized, and this comes at a significant cost in terms of public safety.
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this → victimize → safety
"
Linero Pinto was charged in October 2024 and arrested in Colombia that December at the request of the U.S. government.
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Pinto → charge → government
He was later extradited to the United States and made his first appearance in federal court in El Paso in December 2025.
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He → extradite → December
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and placing lives in jeopardy.
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He → plead → jeopardy
He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, though a sentencing date has not been set.
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date → face → prison
A case against alleged co-conspirator Hernando Manuel de la Cruz Rivera remains pending, Duva said.
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Duva → remain → Rivera
The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America and was coordinated by Joint Task Force Alpha, the Justice Department-led initiative targeting cartels and other transnational organizations involved in high-impact human smuggling and trafficking.
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prosecution → coordinate → smuggling
Duva praised President Donald Trump and his administration for putting a "tremendous focus" on the initiative and providing the Justice Department with additional resources to pursue smugglers, cartels and other transnational criminal organizations.
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Duva → praise → smugglers
"We’re super thankful to President Trump," Duva said.
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Duva → ’re → Trump
"We’re deeply thankful to the White House for that.
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We → ’re → that
We’re thankful to Congress for that, and we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing."
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we → ’re → what
Duva said funding approved through Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill allowed the Criminal Division to hire additional prosecutors and place experienced attorneys in sections handling the administration’s priorities.
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Division → say → priorities
"People think, ‘Well, what is that? What did it do?’" he said.
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he → think → What
"We’re feeling the effects of that.
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We → feel → that
We’re able to put skilled prosecutors in these different sections to attack these administration priorities."
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We → ’re → priorities
Duva said the task force is hunting criminal networks along the southern border, maritime routes near Florida and the northern border with Canada.
"
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force → say → Canada
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
