EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — A federal court in El Paso has sentenced a Mexican human smuggler nicknamed “Ironman” to life in prison for his involvement in a smuggling operation that cost the life of a migrant.
On Monday, Juan Carlos Lara-Quezada, 33, was ordered to spend the rest of his natural life behind bars after he was convicted of being the leader of a human smuggling ring that operated in Texas and New Mexico, crossing migrants through the Santa Teresa desert before dropping them off at a stash house in El Paso.
According to court documents, in 2024, Lara-Quezada’s human smuggling operation cost the life of a woman who, after crossing the desert on foot for eight hours, fell ill…