A Mexican national was sentenced in San Diego Monday to a year in prison for taking part in a human-smuggling attempt that led to the suffocation deaths of two immigrants who didn’t have legal permission to enter the country.
In a plea agreement, Oaxaca resident Pedro Velasco-Manzano, 44, admitted helping arrange the lethally botched attempt to sneak Mexican citizens Tarcisio Casas-Blanco and Jose Aurelio Quiroz-Casas into the United States three years ago for a fee of $11,500, an amount that included his $200 take.
After conferring with Casas-Blanco and Quiroz-Casas, Velasco-Manzano arranged for them to be housed in Tijuana until plans for a smuggling run could be finalized by his employers, according to prosecutors.
Velasco-Manzano then transported them to the smugglers, Eduard Ervemac Saavedra and Nicholas George Zakov, court documents state.
Saavedra enticed Zakov to smuggle Casas-Blanco and Quiroz-Casas into the United States with the prospect of $3,500 in cash.
On the morning of Aug. 12, 2014, Saavedra arranged for the two immigrants to be hidden in the trunk of Zakov’s Dodge Challenger in Tijuana, exposing them to fast-rising temperatures and scant ventilation.
Saavedra then directed Zakov to drive into the United States through San Ysidro Port of Entry.
Border officers ultimately discovered Casas-Blanco and Quiroz-Casas unresponsive in their cramped hiding place. Despite prompt lifesaving attempts, the victims died a short time later of hyperthermia and asphyxiation.
Zakov, a U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty in 2015 to alien-smuggling charges for his role in the deaths of the victims and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Saavedra, a Peruvian national, pleaded guilty in 2016 to similar criminal counts for his role in the deaths of the victims and was sentenced to 63 months in prison.
–City News Service
