Four individuals have been charged in Texas for allegedly smuggling children from Mexico into the United States, sometimes sedating them with candy laced with THC during the trips.
Mexican nationals Susana Guadian and Daniel Guadian, both 50; U.S. citizen Dianne Guadian, 32; and Manuel Valenzuela, 35, a lawful permanent resident living in El Paso, were charged in the Western District of Texas with conspiracy to transport aliens and bringing aliens to the United States for financial gain. According to the Justice Department, Dianne Guadian and Manuel Valenzuela were arrested in El Paso on Aug. 30 and made their initial appearances in federal court on Sept. 2.
The criminal complaint alleges that from May through October 2024, the group operated as part of an alien smuggling organization that targeted unaccompanied children between the ages of five and 13. Drivers recruited by Susana and Daniel Guadian would transport children to U.S. ports of entry using false documents, presenting themselves as the children’s parents. Once across the border, the children were delivered to El Paso, where Dianne Guadian and Valenzuela paid the drivers about $900 for each child.
At least one smuggling event involved feeding the children gummy candies laced with marijuana to keep them quiet, investigators said. One of the children was hospitalized and diagnosed with marijuana poisoning.
U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the case reflects a growing focus on human smuggling. “This Department of Justice is investigating and prosecuting human smuggling more aggressively than ever before, and Joint Task Force Alpha is the tip of the spear,” she said. “We will not rest until those who profit from the suffering of vulnerable people — including many unaccompanied children — face severe, comprehensive justice.”
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti called the practice “especially dangerous and cruel,” while U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons for the Western District of Texas said the case shows that cartels and smuggling organizations “care nothing for the wellbeing of the people they move into the United States. They only care about enriching themselves.”
Jason T. Stevens, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations El Paso, said, “Every child placed in a smuggler’s hands is a life placed in danger. To these criminals, vulnerable children are nothing more than currency — a means to turn human lives into profit. The smuggling of children is one of the most callous and reprehensible crimes HSI investigates.”
The investigation was supported by Joint Task Force Alpha, a Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security partnership created to dismantle smuggling and trafficking networks in Mexico, Central America, and South America. Since its creation, the task force has led to more than 410 arrests, 355 convictions, and 305 significant jail sentences.
HSI El Paso and U.S. Border Patrol led the investigation with assistance from CBP’s National Targeting Center and HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Bethany Allen of the Justice Department’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Hines for the Western District of Texas.
