Human Smuggling Ring Busted in El Paso

It's May 3rd.

I'm Corey with The Story, and this is El Paso News today, local news powered by AI.

Federal agents just busted a human smuggling operation in Northeast El Paso, arresting

two suspects after raiding a migrant stash house.

They found 10 adults and three children crammed inside under really rough conditions, with

trash everywhere and windows blacked out.

The adults and one kid were undocumented, while two U.S. citizen children got released

to a family friend.

This all went down on April 20th, when Border Patrol agents were watching the house on

Von Air Drive as part of a smuggling probe.

It is Marie Dominguez, a U.S. citizen, and Gregory Jose Daniel Martinez-Tovar, a Venezuelan

in the country illegally, got nabbed on alien smuggling.

Charges

Agents had a search warrant and turned up ledgers, cell phones, cash, and even firearms inside.

The impact hit hard on these families.

Migrants weren't free to leave, stuck hiding while smugglers called the shots.

Dominguez admitted picking up groups from nearby spots, housing over 50 people including

kids since October, and even driving them to Albuquerque, while scouting checkpoints.

Martinez-Tovar acted as caretaker, filming proof-of-life videos for the smugglers, and

handling daily stuff like food.

Agents grilled both, learning Dominguez's mom, owned the house, and directed a lot of

it, with Martinez-Tovar living there since turning 18.

He confirmed the migrants had to stay put, clean up, and follow rules, no wandering out.

Both are locked up without bond, in El Paso County, jail.

Facing federal charges, as authorities keep digging into this network.

Stay sharp out there, these operations run deep.