U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wants the death penalty for two Mexican nationals accused of human smuggling after a boat capsized off the coast of California, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries.
A small, panga-style boat carrying a group of migrants capsized off the coast of Del Mar, California, near San Diego on Monday. Five Mexican nationals have been charged with participating in human smuggling, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the incident left “Dad in coma, son dead and 10-year-old daughter missing after migrant boat capsizes.”
Two Mexican nationals — Julio Cesar Zuniga Luna, 30, and Jesus Juan Rodriguez Leyva, 36 — were arrested Monday at the beach and charged Tuesday with Bringing in Aliens Resulting in Death and Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain, the DOJ announced.
Noem called for the Justice Department to seek the death penalty against the human smugglers. Noem’s request is based on a thorough review of both the Immigration and Naturalization Act and the Federal Death Penalty Act.
“This tragedy is a stark reminder of the inhumanity and lethal danger inherent to human smuggling at sea,” Noem said in a statement. “Their deaths were not only avoidable but were also the direct result of the greed and indifference of smugglers who exploited them.”
The investigation continued this week, with authorities reporting the body of a 14-year-old boy from India was among three recovered following the accident. His 10-year-old sister is still missing at sea and presumed dead; their father is in a coma and mother is also hospitalized, the DOJ reported.
“The drowning deaths of these children are a heartbreaking reminder of how little human traffickers care about the costs of their deadly business,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon in the DOJ release. “We are committed to seeking justice for these vulnerable victims, and to holding accountable any traffickers responsible for their deaths.”
Later Monday, authorities arrested three more individuals related to the accident in Chula Vista, California, which is 25 miles south of where the boat washed ashore. Border Patrol agents spotted a vehicle which had been seen earlier near the accident scene. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene.
“During the investigation, Border Patrol Agents identified two other vehicles that were involved in the smuggling event and were able to successfully stop and arrest the drivers of these load vehicles and locate eight of the nine migrants missing from the boat,” the release states.
The drivers were all Mexican nationals. Melissa Jenelle Cota, 33, Gustavo Lara, 32, and Sergio Rojas-Fregosa, 31, were arrested and charged with Transportation of Illegal Aliens. Rojas-Fregoso was identified as an alien who had previously been deported on December 19, 2023.
Maritime smuggling is not just illegal—it is a violent and inherently dangerous crime, Noem said. The nationals are eligible for the death penalty if convicted because human smuggling operations that result in death are considered capital crimes under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Noe said she will request that the Attorney General swiftly prosecute the suspected smugglers “to the fullest extent of the law,” including seeking the death penalty. The death penalty remains legal in California, but Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a moratorium on executions, in effect halting them during his tenure.
“The Department of Homeland Security will not tolerate this level of criminal depravity or reckless disregard for human life,” Noem said. “We will continue to work with our federal partners to ensure justice is served and our laws upheld.”
The U.S. Coast Guard received a call around 6:30 a.m. Monday reporting that a small panga-style boat had overturned just north of Torrey Pines State Beach, said Hunter Schnabel, a Coast Guard public affairs officer.
United States Border Patrol also responded and determined there were originally 16 persons on board, including 14 adults and two minors, based on interviews with survivors.
