Three Guatemalans were accused in the United States of using identity documents and Guatemalan consular records to obtain custody of at least 12 migrant minors Three Guatemalans were charged in the United States for their alleged participation in a network that used false information and identity documents to obtain custody of unaccompanied migrant minors, the Department of Justice reported this Thursday, June 11.
The accusations were filed in Cleveland, Ohio, against Maritza Azucena Cahuec Coc, 38; his brother Carlos Agustín Cahuec Coc, 33; and Gladys Marina Caal Chen, 20, all identified by authorities as Guatemalan citizens.
According to the accusation, between December 2020 and October 2023, Maritza Cahuec Coc coordinated with other people the transfer of migrants, including minors, to the United States. As part of the scheme, he would have submitted multiple sponsorship applications to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), the entity in charge of the custody of unaccompanied migrant minors.
Investigators maintain that he used birth certificates and Guatemalan consular identification cards belonging to other people to appear to have family ties with the minors and thus obtain custody of them.
The indictment points out that several of those requests were approved by US authorities.
In addition, the investigations determined that checks issued in the name of third parties, including at least one of the sponsored minors, were deposited in bank accounts controlled by Cahuec Coc and one of his alleged accomplices.
“These defendants allegedly induced young children to make the dangerous journey from Guatemala to the United States, and then lied to government authorities to obtain custody, abusing the very program designed to protect vulnerable children,” said A. Tysen Duva, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Arrests and new accusations
The authorities reported that Gladys Marina Caal Chen was located during a raid carried out on May 22 at the residence of Maritza Cahuec Coc.
According to the investigation, Caal Chen would also have been a beneficiary of the sponsorship system when she was an unaccompanied migrant minor and subsequently submitted an application to sponsor another minor using an alias.
Prosecutors contend he also provided false information to authorities at the time of his arrest before admitting his true identity.
Separately, Carlos Agustín Cahuec Coc was arrested on May 28 while driving a vehicle registered in the name of his sister.
According to the accusation, at that time he was traveling accompanied by a 16-year-old migrant minor. Investigators affirm that he maintained communication with Maritza Cahuec Coc about the irregular entry of minors into the United States and the way in which they would be sponsored through fraudulent documentation.
Case exposes system vulnerability
During the conference in which the charges were announced, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche assured that the investigation shows failures in the administration of the unaccompanied migrant minor program, in reference to the immigration policy of the previous administration.
“Instead of protecting children, these defendants and others allegedly took advantage of the program and used it to encourage the illegal transfer of unaccompanied minors to the United States,” he said.
The US authorities explained that unaccompanied migrant minors who are detained by immigration agents are transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the agency responsible for their care while the immigration processes progress.
To release a minor into the custody of a sponsor, the agency verifies the applicant’s identity and relationship to the minor, among other requirements.
According to investigators, the defendants would have taken advantage of this mechanism through false documentation and fraudulent statements.
Condemns another Guatemalan
The Department of Justice also announced the sentencing of another Guatemalan, Juan Tiul Xi, 27, who pleaded guilty to participating in the transfer of a 14-year-old girl to the United States and presenting false documentation to obtain custody of her.
According to court documents, Tiul Xi helped the minor and her family obtain financing to pay a coyote who facilitated the trip to US territory.
He later instructed the teenager to use the identity of a younger sister of his when entering the country, allowing her to falsely present herself as his brother in a sponsorship application.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement approved the request and handed over custody of the minor to Tiul Xi in September 2023.
The prosecution indicated that after obtaining custody, the Guatemalan sexually abused the teenager.
For these events, he was convicted in Ohio of two counts of sexual assault and received a state sentence of eight years in prison.
In addition, a federal court imposed an additional sentence of 26 months in prison for facilitating the illegal entry of a person, making false statements and committing aggravated identity theft.
“We will not tolerate criminals who use deceptive and fraudulent practices to deliberately abuse our immigration programs for their financial benefit,” said David M. Toepfer, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The authorities indicated that the accusations against Cahuec Coc, Carlos Cahuec Coc and Caal Chen are only formal accusations and that the three are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
The charges against the Guatemalans
Maritza Azucena Cahuec Coc (38 years old)
- Conspiracy to defraud the United States.
- Host foreigners.
- Promote and facilitate the illegal entry of migrants.
- False or fraudulent statements.
- Aggravated identity theft.
- Maximum penalty: 10 years in prison for conspiracy, five years for false statements and mandatory additional penalties for identity theft.
Carlos Agustín Cahuec Coc (33 years old)
- Promote and facilitate the illegal entry of foreigners for profit.
- Conspiracy related to the irregular entry of migrants.
- Maximum penalty: 10 years in prison.
Gladys Marina Caal Chen (20 years old)
- False or fraudulent statements.
- Use of aliases in procedures related to sponsorship of minors.
- Maximum penalty: five years in prison.
Juan Tiul Xi (27 years old)
- He has already been convicted.
- He pleaded guilty to facilitating the illegal entry of a minor.
- False statements.
- Aggravated identity theft.
- Sentenced to eight years in state prison for sexual assault of a teenage girl and an additional 26 months in federal prison.
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