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Smuggling of migrants gets violent

Hostage-taking to rise, U.S. fears

Daniel González
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 21, 2005 12:00 AM

Jorge Avena-Pardo preyed on undocumented immigrants as the ringleader of a violent smuggling group.

He and several men with guns kidnapped some undocumented immigrants from another smuggling gang, held them hostage in a vacant west Phoenix house and threatened to let them die in the desert if relatives didn't pay a $1,500 ransom for each one, according to federal authorities.

The hostage incident, which took place in 2004, ended without bloodshed. But as the flow of illegal immigration across the Arizona border slows during the Christmas season, federal authorities fear an increase in violence toward undocumented immigrants by smuggling gangs trying to make up for a cut in profits.

"There are less loads this time of year during the holidays, so there is a higher preponderance to commit violence to generate revenue either by charging higher prices or by ripping off someone else's load to hold them for ransom," said Roberto Medina, special agent in charge of the Arizona office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency that investigates smuggling-related crimes.

Federal authorities are struggling to keep up with the increase in violence related to the smuggling trade, and for every smuggler like Avena-Pardo they catch, another takes his place.


The ambush
On July 20, 2004, Avena-Pardo, a 23-year-old Mexican national, and several other men armed with pistols were waiting in Phoenix to ambush a group of 17 undocumented immigrants from Mexico and El Salvador.

Earlier that day, the group of migrants had illegally crossed the border near Sasabe guided by a smuggler, according to interviews with the ICE special agent who investigated the case, and Emory Hurley, the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted Avena-Pardo.

After holing up in Tucson, the migrants drove to Phoenix in a pickup truck with a camper shell, led by one of their smugglers, who drove ahead in a separate vehicle.

The migrants were on their way to Kentucky, Virginia and other Mid-Atlantic states in search of construction work. But somewhere in Phoenix, the migrants and their smuggler were surrounded by armed men in three vehicles who forced them to pull over to the curb. The men got out, pointed pistols at the migrants' heads and ordered them into their own vehicles. Then, they sped off.

For nearly three days, Avena-Pardo and his gang held the 17 undocumented immigrants in a vacant house in the 4000 block of West Avalon in Maryvale. The hostage-takers ordered the migrants to supply the names and telephone numbers of relatives in the United States. They threatened the migrants with guns.

They wanted $1,000 to release the hostages and then an additional $500 once they arrived at their final destination in the United States. Pay up, the hostage-takers told the relatives, or the migrants would be abandoned in the desert, presumably to die.


The ruthlessness
The hostage incident involving Avena-Pardo shows how immigrant-smuggling organizations in Arizona are becoming more ruthless as tighter border security has reduced the flow of illegal immigration overall, federal authorities and immigrant advocates said.

Increasingly, federal authorities say, smugglers are holding migrants hostage to extort additional money after the migrants have already paid their smuggling fees. Gangs known as bajadores also are stealing migrants from smugglers, then holding them for their own ransoms.

Since March 2003, ICE agents in Arizona have responded to more than 250hostage incidents involving undocumented immigrants. Though the overall number of hostage incidents is down, violence is up. On nearly a weekly basis, ICE agents say they respond to at least one hostage incident in the Valley in which migrants have been pistol-whipped, punched, kicked, beaten up and restrained with duct tape. In some instances, agents have rescued female migrants who have been sexually assaulted or raped while smugglers held a phone so relatives could hear it, federal authorities say.

"It's a very sad situation what is happening to our people," said Phoenix businessman Elias Bermudez, founder of Immigrants Without Borders, a group that advocates for undocumented immigrants.

"Smugglers are preying on the desperation of undocumented immigrants trying to be reunited with loved ones," Bermudez said. "When business goes down, people use whatever means necessary to keep the cash flow going. It's inhumane. It's abusive."

At one point, ICE agents were gaining an upper hand over violent smuggling organizations in Arizona. But the Arizona office is down agents since Operation ICE Storm, the agency's anti-smuggling effort in Arizona, ended a year ago and 50 agents assigned here temporarily were sent back to their home offices. Under an agencywide hiring freeze that ended in September 2004, the office also couldn't fill several vacancies.


The escape
On July 23, 2004, the migrants held hostage by Avena-Pardo caught a break. Early that morning, only one man was left guarding the migrants. His name was Antonio Hernandez-Rivera, federal authorities say. Hernandez-Rivera bided his time talking on a cellphone, smoking marijuana and sleeping.

While Hernandez-Rivera slept in a hallway, two of the migrants managed to pry open a bedroom window and escape. It was still dark outside. The brothers crawled alongside house walls, in case Hernandez-Rivera woke up and started shooting out a window, then ran until they found a police car.

Minutes later, Phoenix police surrounded the house and rescued 19 migrants, including the group of 17 and two others who were already there. Inside, police found a .38-caliber revolver and a box of ammunition.

On Dec. 1, Hernandez-Rivera, a Mexican national, pleaded guilty in federal court to a felony charge of carrying a firearm during a crime of violence. Avena-Pardo was arrested the following November after police pulled him over for a traffic violation.

At his trial earlier this month, five migrants held hostage in the Avalon house fingered Avena-Pardo as the ringleader. A federal jury convicted him on Dec. 8 on felony charges of conspiracy to commit hostage-taking, hostage-taking, carrying a firearm during a crime of violence and harboring illegal aliens.

Hernandez-Rivera is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 6. He faces a sentence of five to 10 years in prison. Avena-Pardo will be sentenced on March 6. He faces up to life in prison.

As for the five migrants who testified during the trial, they were allowed to remain in the United States legally and given temporary work permits until the case ended. The remaining 14 volunteered to return to Mexico and El Salvador.

Medina said undocumented immigrants should think twice before hiring smugglers to cross the border illegally.

"They are putting their lives in the hands of someone who doesn't care about them," he said. "All they care about is the money."



Reach the reporter at daniel.gonzalez@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8312.