A Dominican national has been sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in a human smuggling operation that led to the death of a child. Alcibades De Paz, aged 34, was involved in transporting non-citizens, including a three-year-old boy, from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico. According to court documents, De Paz was responsible for operating the vessel during this smuggling venture.

The incident occurred when the vessel stopped functioning and capsized near Rincón, Puerto Rico on December 23, 2022. This resulted in the tragic death of the young boy who was being smuggled into the United States. On August 27, De Paz pleaded guilty to one count of bringing certain aliens into the United States resulting in death. In addition to his prison sentence, he will serve three years of supervised release.

The announcement was made by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow for the District of Puerto Rico; and Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Gonzalez-Ramos of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Juan.

The case was investigated by HSI San Juan with support from Puerto Rico Police Bureau’s Joint Forces of Rapid Action and U.S. Border Patrol's Ramey Sector. The prosecution team included Trial Attorney Marie Zisa from the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Emelina M. Agrait-Barreto for the District of Puerto Rico.

This investigation was part of the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, which is a collaboration between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI focusing on human smuggling networks posing security or humanitarian concerns.