A Colombian national who was extradited to the U.S. to stand trial for his role in a human smuggling operation pleaded guilty to charges in a Texas court this week.
Luis Enrique Linero Pinto, 41, faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of committing an alien smuggling conspiracy and putting lives in jeopardy, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
As part of the smuggling operation, Linero Pinto took in migrants at San Andrés Island, Colombia, and arranged transportation by boat to Nicaragua before they illegally entered the U.S.
In 2023, a boat that Linero Pinto helped arrange, carrying 40 migrants and two boat captains, disappeared on its way to Nicaragua.
“Linero Pinto played a critical role in a prolific human smuggling conspiracy that used corruption and illicit means of transport to move aliens from Colombia to the United States for money,” DOJ Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said in a statement. “During the transport, dozens of people disappeared at sea, never to be seen or heard from again.”
Colombian National Pleads Guilty for Role in Dangerous Human Smuggling Organization
“Linero Pinto played a critical role in a prolific human smuggling conspiracy that used corruption and illicit means of transport to move aliens from Colombia to the United States for money,”… pic.twitter.com/oV2CW6jVJt
— Criminal Division (@DOJCrimDiv) September 14, 2026
“This conviction serves as the latest example of how Joint Task Force Alpha continues to lead the Department’s efforts to aggressively crack down on transnational human smuggling and trafficking networks that threaten the lives of those transported, as well as the security of our citizens and border,” Duva added.
Linero Pinto, whose nickname was “El Calvo,” also bribed Colombian Navy members for intelligence on patrol boats between the Colombian island and Nicaragua “to avoid detection,” the news release says.
