The extradition of Raul Saucedo-Huipio, an alleged alien smuggler, from Mexico to the United States has been announced following extensive coordination between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement authorities. Saucedo-Huipio, aged 49, was arrested in Mexico on March 2, 2023, at the request of the U.S., and handed over to U.S. authorities on February 21. He faces charges previously filed in the District of Arizona and made his initial court appearance in the Southern District of California.
His co-conspirator, Ofelia Hernandez-Salas, 62, had already been extradited to the United States in 2023 and pleaded guilty on December 18, 2024, to conspiracy to bring an alien into the country along with substantive counts related to these activities.
Court documents reveal that Saucedo-Huipio collaborated with Hernandez-Salas and other smugglers to facilitate the movement of large groups of migrants into the United States from countries such as Bangladesh, Yemen, Pakistan, Eritrea, India, among others. They allegedly charged migrants substantial fees for this service and guided them on illegal border crossings using ladders to scale fences. It is also claimed that they robbed migrants at gunpoint.
In June 2023, sanctions were imposed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on this criminal organization.
This announcement was made by Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Rachel C. Hernandez for the District of Arizona; and ICE HSI Arizona Special Agent Francisco B. Burrola.
ICE HSI Yuma is leading this investigation with support from several agencies including U.S. Border Patrol and INTERPOL. Substantial assistance was provided by CBP’s National Targeting Center/Counter Network Division and OFAC.
Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion from HRSP and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart J. Zander are prosecuting this case with significant support from various divisions within the Justice Department.
The arrest and extradition were coordinated through Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), a partnership aimed at combating human smuggling networks impacting border communities in Central America. JTFA focuses on disrupting networks that exploit migrants or pose national security risks.
The investigation is supported by ECT program focusing on human smuggling networks posing national security or humanitarian concerns.