The guilty plea of a Colombian migrant smuggler is revealing the deadly risks behind a maritime route to the United States. A boat carrying 42 people disappeared at sea, and a senior Justice Department official warned that reaching land would not necessarily have meant safety for those on board.
Luis Enrique Linero Pinto, 41, who was also known as “El Calvo,” admitted his role in a human-smuggling conspiracy during proceedings in federal court in El Paso, Texas. Extradited from Colombia, he faced allegations that the operation relied on bribery and sea routes to move migrants north toward the U.S.
The vessel departed San Andrés Island, Colombia, for Nicaragua on Oct. 21, 2023. Roughly 40 migrants and two captains were aboard. The boat never reached its destination, and authorities have received no word from anyone on board.
“This was a particularly sad and disturbing situation,” Assistant Attorney General Tysen Duva, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, told News Outlet.
A Colombian officer stands beside Luis Enrique Linero Pinto, who admitted taking part in a human-smuggling operation connected to a boat that disappeared with 42 people aboard. (The Department of Justice)
Duva said the migrants and the two captains vanished after leaving San Andrés Island. “These individuals are, of course, missing and presumed dead, and it appears that there were no survivors,” he said.
The disappearance highlights the extreme hazards created by international smuggling networks, which exploit vulnerable people and treat their journeys toward the United States as a source of profit, Duva said.
“It’s all about money,” he said. “Anybody who’s involved with a cartel or transnational smuggling in this regard, it is about money. It’s about preying on people’s misfortune.”
A coastal scene on San Andrés Island, Colombia, where prosecutors say migrants boarded boats bound for Nicaragua along a route leading toward the United States. (Robert Bonet/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Prosecutors said Linero Pinto helped migrants make their way to San Andrés Island, met them when they arrived, secured lodging and arranged transportation to boats traveling to Nicaragua.
The planned route would then take the migrants across Central America and Mexico before they attempted to enter the United States illegally, according to the Justice Department.
Court records also allege that Linero Pinto paid Colombian navy personnel for up-to-date information about patrol locations between San Andrés Island and Nicaragua. That intelligence helped the smuggling vessels avoid detection, prosecutors said.
He acknowledged assisting in the movement of the migrants who boarded the vessel that disappeared in October 2023.
Duva emphasized that the group disappeared before completing even the first portion of the perilous journey.
“That’s the first leg. They didn’t even finish the first leg here and get to Nicaragua and then try to come north by land,” he said. “It’s a really long journey, and it’s full of really bad things that can happen.”
He added that the threat extends well beyond the dangers of crossing open water.
Migrants may encounter dangerous terrain across South and Central America and while attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, Duva said. Those who ultimately arrive in the United States can also face crushing debts and the risk of being forced into sex trafficking.
“You pay money to come to the United States, and then when you get here, the co-conspirators or those involved in the criminal enterprise will say, ‘But now you owe more, and you’re going to work this off in the sex trade,’” Duva said.
Authorities stop a vessel suspected of being used for migrant smuggling. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
“Cross-border smuggling cases often times just morph right into human trafficking cases,” he said. “The crime sort of changes along the way. The travelers are the ones victimized, and this comes at a significant cost in terms of public safety.”
Linero Pinto was charged in October 2024 and arrested in Colombia that December at the request of the U.S. government. He was later extradited to the United States and made his first appearance in federal court in El Paso in December 2025.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and placing lives in jeopardy. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, though a sentencing date has not been set.
A case against alleged co-conspirator Hernando Manuel de la Cruz Rivera Orjuela remains pending, Duva said.
The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America and was coordinated by Joint Task Force Alpha, the Justice Department-led initiative targeting cartels and other transnational organizations involved in high-impact human smuggling and trafficking.
Duva praised President Donald Trump and his administration for putting a “tremendous focus” on the initiative and providing the Justice Department with additional resources to pursue smugglers, cartels and other transnational criminal organizations.
“We’re super thankful to President Trump,” Duva said. “We’re deeply thankful to the White House for that. We’re thankful to Congress for that, and we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing.”
President Donald Trump arrives at a rally at Gastonia Municipal Airport, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Gastonia, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Duva said funding approved through Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill allowed the Criminal Division to hire additional prosecutors and place experienced attorneys in sections handling the administration’s priorities.
“People think, ‘Well, what is that? What did it do?’” he said. “We’re feeling the effects of that. We’re able to put skilled prosecutors in these different sections to attack these administration priorities.”
Duva said the task force is hunting criminal networks along the southern border, maritime routes near Florida and the northern border with Canada.
“We are focusing on these cases at any border that we have,” he said.
His warning to smugglers operating beyond America’s borders was blunt.
“Our reach is substantial,” Duva said. “We are going to chase these cases no matter where they originate from or where we find them.”
Duva said the department’s expanded international partnerships are critical because the criminals behind the operations often believe distance will protect them from prosecution.
“They just think, ‘Well, they catch other people, but they’re not going to get me,’” he said. “You really try to combat that one case at a time.”
Joint Task Force Alpha has produced more than 483 domestic and international arrests, over 436 U.S. convictions and more than 371 significant prison sentences, according to the Justice Department.
Homeland Security Investigations personnel conduct a maritime operation in this file image. HSI led the investigation into Luis Enrique Linero Pinto’s human smuggling conspiracy. (X/@HSITampa)
Duva said the mission should transcend partisan fights because the networks being targeted threaten migrants and American communities alike.
“It shouldn’t be partisan,” he said. “It should be obvious that anybody who’s in the White House, anybody who is in Congress, should be lauding these cases and the work that’s being done by Criminal Division entities like Joint Task Force Alpha.”
The Justice Department’s ultimate goal, Duva said, is the “total elimination” of cartels and the criminal organizations profiting from human suffering.
“You do it one case at a time,” he said. “We are focused on doing the very best cases that we can for the American people. That’s what we get up every day and think about.”
For Duva, however, the vanished boat remains a haunting illustration of why that mission matters.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever heard of anybody who survives that one after several months and a year,” Duva said. “It’s super tragic, and hopefully people realize when they hear about this case just how dangerous it is and how important it is that you target these smuggling groups.”
