DEL RIO, Texas — A 47-year-old Quemado man has been sentenced to over 12 years in federal prison for his involvement in a conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, resulting in serious bodily injury and endangering lives, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas.
Tomas Estrada-Torres conspired with others in the smuggling and hostage-taking of a family, including a man, a pregnant woman, and their seven-year-old child, as detailed in court documents. In August 2023, the family was held at a stash house in Eagle Pass while smugglers demanded a $21,000 ransom. Estrada-Torres, along with co-conspirator Ambar Obregon, transported the pregnant woman to San Antonio, purchasing clothes for her and instructing her on what to say at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint.
The woman was later moved to a stash house in Austin, where she was sexually assaulted by Pedro Ruiz Gonzalez, who also demanded payment, threatened to sell her unborn child, and threatened her son. On September 21, 2023, U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered Estrada-Torres at a checkpoint near Eagle Pass with a passenger identified as an illegal alien from Honduras. An investigation by Homeland Security Investigations led to Estrada-Torres admitting to transporting the woman to San Antonio…