The United States Attorney’s Office has announced the charges against three individuals involved in a January 25 human smuggling operation. Saul Mazariegos-Estrada, 29, from El Tejar, Guatemala, has been charged with the illegal transportation of aliens. Byron Sicajau Socoy, 40, also from El Tejar, Guatemala, and Christian Rafael Hernandez Villa, 34, from Jalisco, Mexico, have been charged with being aliens who eluded examination or inspection by immigration officers.

The charges were filed following an incident on January 25, 2025, when U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to a report from a concerned citizen about multiple individuals crossing a remote dirt road about a mile south of the United States-Canada border, near Newport, Vermont. The agents found footprints in the snow at the location and shortly thereafter spotted a vehicle traveling quickly down a remote driveway with Virginia license plates.

Upon stopping the vehicle, agents discovered Mazariegos-Estrada in the front seat, who admitted to being a Guatemalan citizen without proper immigration documents. In the back seat, Sicajau Socoy and Hernandez Villa were found, both of whom confessed to entering the U.S. illegally and lacking the necessary immigration documentation.

Mazariegos-Estrada was detained and is awaiting a detention hearing. Sicajau Socoy and Hernandez Villa, during their initial court appearances on January 27, pleaded guilty to the charges. Each received a time-served sentence, as they had each faced up to six months in prison. The defendants were transported to the Border Patrol Station after their arrest.

The case highlights ongoing efforts by the U.S. Border Patrol to combat illegal immigration and human smuggling across the nation’s borders. The term “alien” refers to individuals who are not U.S. citizens or nationals, according to U.S. immigration laws.