A Laredo woman has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for her involvement in a child smuggling ring. Vanessa Valadez, 23, admitted guilt in September 2024 for smuggling a child into the United States for profit.
U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison ordered Valadez's prison term to be followed by three years of supervised release. "Those that choose to engage in the human trafficking business are not good people," stated U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. He emphasized that the Southern District of Texas is determined to eradicate such rings.
Craig S. Larrabee, ICE-HSI San Antonio Special Agent in Charge, highlighted the severe repercussions for exploiting vulnerable populations, particularly children. "Drugging children to facilitate human smuggling is not only criminal it’s inhumane," he said.
Valadez and her family operated from August to September 2023, smuggling young minors from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, into the United States. On September 19, 2023, they retrieved a young girl from a stash house and transported her across the border to Valadez in downtown Laredo before delivering her further into the country.
Two days later, an attempt to transport another girl was thwarted during a routine border inspection at Juarez Lincoln Bridge. The co-conspirators used melatonin gummies and a falsified birth certificate for their scheme.
Investigations revealed attempts to transport at least four girls into the U.S., with three still unidentified and missing. Birth certificates of U.S.-born children were used by smugglers posing as families at entry points.
A text message discovered during investigations depicted an unconscious child with the caption “La noquiamos con unas gomitas,” or “we knocked her out with some gummies.”
Other conspirators involved have already been sentenced after pleading guilty: Ana Laura Bryand (47), Kayla Marie Bryand (20), Jose Eduardo Bryand (43), Nancy Guadalupe Bryand (44), all from Laredo; and Lizeth Esmeralda Bryand Arredondo (32) from Mexico.
The investigation was conducted by ICE-HSI with support from Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations and other agencies. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Makens and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Terence A. Check Jr.
