Alleged High-Level Human Smuggler Extradited to El Paso

EL PASO, Texas – A Mexican national was extradited from Mexico City to El Paso on criminal charges related to his alleged involvement in human smuggling operations through the El Paso corridor.

According to court documents, Osvaldo Coronel-Fernandez aka “Omero,” of Ciudad Juarez, is charged with one count of aiding and abetting, bringing in aliens without authorization for financial gain and one count of conspiracy to encourage and induce aliens to come to the United States for financial gain.

Coronel-Fernandez was indicted by a federal grand jury in El Paso on Nov. 20, 2019 for offenses that allegedly occurred between July 2015 and August 2016. If convicted, he faces three to 10 years in federal prison for the aiding and abetting charge and up to 10 years in prison for the conspiracy charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.

Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case with assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Marshals Service. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Coronel-Fernandez. The Justice Department thanks its Mexican law enforcement partners, who were instrumental in arresting and extraditing Coronel-Fernandez.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Watts is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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