LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) – A Laredo man was sentenced to more than a decade in prison for his role in a large-scale human smuggling operation, officials announced.
Danny Nunez, 35, pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to smuggle undocumented individuals for financial gain. He was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison.
According to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei, Nunez ran a “one-stop shop” operation, working directly with the Cartel del Noreste and smuggling more than 1,900 undocumented people. The judge described him as the most prolific smuggler she had ever encountered.
Investigators traced Nunez’s activities back to 2023. In one shocking incident, authorities discovered 101 undocumented individuals, including 12 minors, locked inside a trailer. Many of them reported difficulty breathing and feared for their lives.
At the time of his arrest, law enforcement also recovered over $36,000 in cash from Nunez’s home.
