Four charged in Texas with smuggling children across border while posing as parents
Mexican nationals and a U.S. resident face federal charges for smuggling unaccompanied minors by posing as relatives at Border Patrol checkpoints; some minors were sedated with marijuana gummies, and extradition is underway.
Four people have been charged in the Western District of Texas with smuggling unaccompanied children from Juárez, Mexico, into the United States by posing as the children’s parents at Border Patrol checkpoints. The defendants allegedly smuggled minors aged five to 13, employed U.S. documents to claim the children belonged to them, and used marijuana gummies to sedate the youngsters during crossings conducted between May 1, 2024, and Oct. 18, 2024.
Susana Guadian and Daniel Guadian, who are Mexican nationals, their daughter Dianne Guadian, a U.S. citizen, and Manuel Valenzuela, a legal U.S. resident living in El Paso, are charged with conspiracy to transport aliens and bringing aliens to the United States for financial gain in the Western District of Texas. U.S. officials say extradition efforts are underway to bring the Mexican nationals to face the charges in the United States.
They would have the drivers pose as their parents and provide U.S. documents, falsely claiming that the documents belong to those children that were being smuggled, according to Jason Stevens, the Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso. "They would normally bring them in overnight between 10 a.m. and 4 or 5 a.m., when the children would be sleeping anyway. They use that to ensure that they stay sedated, and that way they’re less likely to answer questions or provide anything that’s going to be inconsistent or contrary to what the smuggler’s saying," Stevens said.
According to the criminal complaint, the smuggling events occurred between May 1, 2024, and Oct. 18, 2024. In at least one instance, a child was taken to a hospital after ingesting gummy candies laced with marijuana. Stevens added, "We’ve seen everything from Benadryl to now these gummies being used to sedate the children," and described inspections at border crossing points designed to minimize risk for the smugglers and the children. The investigation also uncovered proof-of-life pictures of some of the children on the suspects’ phones, suggesting ongoing coordination with family members in the United States.
The suspects are accused of targeting families who trusted smugglers to deliver children to relatives in the United States, despite the substantial risk to the minors. Stevens stressed that children are being treated as currency by criminal networks and that authorities are working to interdict operations before the children reach the border and are placed in vulnerable situations.
Text messages cited in the complaint, translated into English, show the smugglers coordinating with callers about specific children. One message reads, "Young lady, are you working today? I have a boy 7 and 8. They are small," while another states, "Also Fanny, I have two little girls ages 4 and 5." The existence of such communications underscores the alleged procedural steps used to move vulnerable minors across the border using false parental identities.
The case highlights ongoing concerns about how smuggling networks operate at the border and the safeguards in place to verify parental relationships at checkpoints. Officials say the investigations aim not only to prosecute those who profit from trafficking but also to disrupt the methods used to exploit families seeking a safer path to the United States.
The investigation and charges come amid broad enforcement efforts targeting cross-border smuggling networks. The U.S. attorney’s office says extradition of the Mexican nationals to face charges in the United States is a priority, as authorities continue to pursue accountability for those responsible for harming unaccompanied minors.
This case is ongoing, and prosecutors have not yet released further details about court proceedings or potential penalties.
