The victims were sisters and they froze to death
Photo: Joseph Prezioso / AFP / Getty Images
Two traffickers or polleros were sentenced by federal authorities for illegally entering 3 young sisters who traveled from Mexico to California , place where they died frozen during a snowstorm on the mountain.
It is about Cecilio Rios-Quiñones , by 38 years, and his brother, Ricardo Rios-Quiñones , by 23 years, who were sentenced to five and a half years in jail each by the United States District Court in San Diego.
Prosecutors said themen, from the state of Chihuahua , pleaded guilty to carrying the women across the border on 10 February 2021 and were in a rugged area near Mount Laguna , about twenty miles north of the border, when a snowstorm struck, reported the site Pix 11 .
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women, who came from poor rural areas of the state of Oaxaca and who were looking for a better life, lacked adequate clothing or supplies for a trip of several days in the rain and snow for which they died of hypothermia, according to the authorities.
The lawyers defenders argued that the brothers only were paid to be guides and did not expect such severe weather. They detailed that they “snuggled” with the women, trying to keep them warm, and finally one of them went down the mountain to find a place to look for cell phone reception to call said the lawyers.
A search and rescue unit of the United States Border Patrol found Margarita Santos Arce , from 32 years; and Paula Santos Arce , 29 years, dead, while Juana Santos Arce , from 35 years, he lost his life later.
“It is tragic that someone wants to come here to work and die, but it is more tragic that there are those who benefit from this, who treat them as cargo, “said US District Judge Ann Bencivengo in the sentence.
“I am a man of faith and I am very sorry for what I did (…) we were not prepared for the storm and I would never have participated in this if I had known that someone would end up injured or killed, ”Ricardo Ríos-Quiñones wrote in a letter to the judge.
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