Edgar “N” appealed to a summary trial to avoid a heavier sentence and pay a $78,000 fine.
14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico City, June 2, 2025 — Mexican smuggler (“coyote”) Edgar “N” had an abbreviated trial to reduce his sentence for the crime of “human trafficking” that he was charged with last Friday. For the transfer of 14 migrants of Cuban origin and 10 migrants from India, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of 648,375 Mexican pesos ($33,730),” said an official from the Puebla State Attorney General’s Office who requested anonymity.
The coyote avoided “under this legal ploy a sentence of 18 years in prison and the payment of almost 1,500,000 pesos ($78,000),” regretted the same source. “It may seem illogical to us, but there are cases like this, where a judge considered human trafficking a misdemeanor. There are loopholes in the law; it must be accepted.”
The evidence provided by the authorities indicates that Edgar “N” contacted the “14 Cubans through messages and agreed to transfer them in a van” for $2,500 per person. The migrants were handed over by a truck driver after crossing a military checkpoint on the road. “Unfortunately one of the Cubans told the officers that he had a photo of the deposit he had made through Western Union but later backed out as a witness,” said the official.
Edgar “N” contacted the “14 Cubans through messages and agreed to transfer them in a van” for $2,500 per person
The van with the migrants was intercepted by the National Guard at kilometer 112 of the Mexico-to-Puebla highway, in the municipality of Coronango. The coyote said they were part of “a group of tourists and that they were supposed to be in Mexico City.”
However, “they did not present their documents,” and the driver eventually acknowledged that they were migrants. He was paid 5,000 pesos ($260), which would be given to him upon arrival in the State of Mexico. “The whole story changed after he was put in a holding cell and asked for a lawyer. At that point he changed his mind and requested a summary trial,” the same source said.
The migrants were handed over to the National Institute of Migration, and, according to the authorities, they were transferred to the headquarters in Puebla.
“The state is a forced crossing point for migrants, but the flow has decreased considerably. Since two years ago, the shelters installed in the La Asunción and San Juan de los Lagos parishes stopped receiving mass arrivals of people who came to sleep, rest for two or three days and continue on their way.”
Also, “the movement of migrants hidden in trucks and vans was reduced, and a time came when motorcycles were used to avoid detection.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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