A Texas woman pleaded guilty in federal court to her role in an illegal operation that smuggled unaccompanied children into the United States from Mexico, often using drug-infused candy to keep them quiet.
Dianne Guadian, 33, of El Paso, admitted to four counts of aiding and abetting the bringing of undocumented noncitizens for profit. According to court records, Guadian worked alongside three co-conspirators to bring children between five and 13 years old from Juarez, Mexico, into El Paso.
Investigators said drivers and recruiters presented fraudulent U.S. documents to border officers, claiming the papers belonged to the young children and falsely asserting that the drivers were their parents. To keep the children quiet during the border crossings, the smugglers gave them gummies laced with THC.
During one smuggling attempt, officers referred a vehicle for secondary inspection, leading to the discovery of a child who had to be rushed to a local hospital and treated for THC poisoning.
Guadian now faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 15 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled, though a federal judge will determine her penalty after considering statutory sentencing factors and federal guidelines. One of her co-defendants, Manuel Valenzuela, was sentenced on July 1 to five years in prison for his role in the operation.
Federal officials condemned the smuggling ring’s methods following the guilty plea.
“This defendant and her co-conspirators engaged in serious and dangerous conduct, which included giving THC laced gummies to children to sedate them while smuggling them from Mexico into the United States, all in order to make money,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The smuggling of unaccompanied children can expose them to the additional crimes and societal ills of human trafficking and sexual assault. This robs them of their innocence and youth, and it must be stopped.”
“Dianne Guadian was just one conspirator in a sickening smuggling operation, toying with the lives of children by drugging them in order to bring them into the United States from Mexico,” said U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas. “Fortunately, our partners at U.S. Customs and Border Protection recognized something was off. Their keen instincts resulted in the successful medical treatment of THC-poisoned children and the arrests of the smugglers.”
“Dianne Guadian’s actions were not only unscrupulous, they put innocent children in grave danger,” said Deputy Executive Associate Director Matthew Millhollin of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations. “Human smuggling is never a victimless crime. Smugglers routinely expose vulnerable people, including children, exploitation and life-threatening risk.”
“Criminal human smugglers exploit vulnerable children in horrific ways,” added Chief Patrol Agent Jesse Munoz of the U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector. “I am glad our Border Patrol agents investigating this case were able to contribute to the successful prosecution of a criminal who will be held accountable for this terrible crime.”
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