SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A man who piloted a smuggling boat that capsized off Imperial Beach last year, killing five undocumented immigrants, has been sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison, prosecutors said.
David Alfonso Barrera Nune, 38, was sentenced Friday to 57 months behind bars for his role in the November 2025 human smuggling operation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
The deadly incident happened Nov. 14, 2025. after U.S. Border Patrol agents received information about a small vessel traveling north from Mexico toward Imperial Beach. Dense fog initially prevented agents from successfully intercepting the boat…