A former Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent has been sentenced for charging migrants thousands of dollars to smuggle them across the border.
Concretely, Omar Moreno was sentenced to over four years in prison for one count of bringing in certain aliens into the U.S. for financial gain, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas. Moreno has also been sentenced to 80 hours of community service for one county of bribery of a public official.
Moreno got caught in 2022 when agents received a tip that a CBP officer on duty was smuggling migrants into the U.S., charging $4,000 per migrant from an organization. He was caught on video doing so.
Fees have increased as of late as the Donald Trump administration cracks down on unlawful immigration, practically preventing all crossings. An NBC News report from earlier this month quoted an apprehended migrant saying that he agreed to pay cartel operatives $18,000 to be smuggled into the U.S., with $12,000 paid upfront and $6,000 still owed.
Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officials attribute the fee increase to the reduced number of migrants crossing and intensified border security measures implemented under the Trump administration, according to the report.
State and federal law enforcement officers have observed that with fewer large migrant groups attempting crossings, the focus has shifted to organized smuggling operations. Texas DPS troopers and Border Patrol agents are now engaging in more targeted operations against human smugglers, using drones, scent-tracking dogs, and aerial surveillance to intercept illegal crossings.
Smugglers are also now charging migrants to guide them back to their countries through Panama's Darien Gap. Each day, between 20 and 30 migrants board boats off Panama's coast, heading toward Colombia instead of northward. This reversal is driven by stricter deportation policies and fewer legal pathways to residency in the U.S.
Smugglers like El Zurdo, who has spent years guiding migrants north, are now offering "return trips" for $550 per person, including transport to the Colombian town of Necoclí, basic accommodations, and meals, according to a new report by Bloomberg.
Gardi Sugdub, an island previously known for housing Panama's first climate refugees, has now become a key stop for those waiting for southbound transport. Migrants pay $10 per day for lodging, though conditions remain poor, with limited access to potable water and electricity.
Originally published on Latin Times
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