TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 A Hialeah man has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for his role in an international migrant-smuggling and money-laundering conspiracy.<\/p>\n
Erik Ventura-Castro, 24, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.<\/p>\n
According to court documents, Ventura-Castro and others operated a smuggling organization between January 2021 and June 2025 that encouraged thousands of Cuban nationals to enter the United States through the southern border or by using fraudulent travel authorizations.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said the organization advertised its services on multiple social media platforms and charged between $1,500 and $40,000 per person.<\/p>\n
The organization allegedly helped Cuban nationals falsely claim European citizenship so they could apply for admission through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, commonly known as ESTA. Cuban nationals are not eligible for the visa-waiver program.<\/p>\n
Court documents show the conspirators filed hundreds of fraudulent applications using fabricated documents and addresses. Prosecutors said the applications falsely claimed the travelers had not been in Cuba since 2011, although they were in Cuba when the documents were submitted.<\/p>\n
Ventura-Castro advertised trips from Cuba to the United States through third-party countries and helped travelers obtain fraudulent authorizations, according to federal prosecutors.<\/p>\n
He also submitted more than 40 electronic payments for fraudulent applications and transferred more than $97,000 from the United States to the Cayman Islands, Colombia and Mexico to purchase airline tickets, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n
Members of the organization sometimes chartered private planes to transport groups of people, according to court documents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe conspirators in this case used sophisticated methods to violate those laws and engaged in an elaborate human smuggling scheme for profit,\u201d U.S. Attorney Gregory Kehoe said.<\/p>\n
Ventura-Castro pleaded guilty on May 7.<\/p>\n
Twelve people were charged in a superseding indictment connected to the investigation. Five other defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.<\/p>\n
Three defendants, Lazaro Alain Cabrera-Rodriguez, Luis Emmanuel Escalona-Marrero and Gisleivy Peralta Consuegra, are scheduled to stand trial beginning Sept. 21. The charges against those defendants remain allegations unless proven in court.<\/p>\n
The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations in Tampa, U.S. Border Patrol\u2019s Miami Sector and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services\u2019 Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate. Authorities in the Cayman Islands also assisted.<\/p>\n
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