Department of Justice press release:
A Virginia man has been charged with conspiracy to transport an illegal alien after he arranged and paid for the smuggling of a 17-year-old Honduran minor into the United States.
According to court documents, on May 3, 2025, U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended a 17-year-old unaccompanied minor from Honduras near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, after she unlawfully entered the United States. The subsequent investigation revealed that Luis Alonso Argueta-Diaz, 35, of Virginia, had arranged and partially paid for the minor’s smuggling into the country. When questioned by agents from Homeland Security Investigations, Argueta-Diaz admitted to coordinating and financing the minor’s journey with the intent for her to live with him and assist in caring for his children.
Argueta-Diaz is charged with conspiracy to transport an illegal alien and will remain in custody pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted of the current charges, Argueta-Diaz faces 10 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Jason T. Stevens, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations El Paso, made the announcement today.
Homeland Security Investigations investigated this case with assistance from U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ERO Richmond, FBI Richmond Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation, Virginia State Police, and the Henrico Police Department. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico is prosecuting this case as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
