Alleged captain of panga charged in capsizing deaths of four migrants near San Diego

After four people died when a boat capsized south of San Diego federal prosecutors filed charges against the alleged captain Related Articles Trump sues California over law that bans masked federal agents Letters The classroom is no place for teachers politics Granddaughter of Charlotte s Web author upset with use of its title in immigration crackdown As ICE escalates its tactics are federal agents truly untouchable in the eyes of the law He came to US as a child refugee from the former Soviet Union Now he s a father facing deportation to Ukraine David Alfonso Barrera a -year-old Mexican national was arrested on Saturday and charged Monday with two counts related to smuggling immigrants for financial gain and smuggling resulting in death Another man a -year-old Mexican national who was aboard the panga was charged with re-entering the country days after he was removed on Nov U S Demarcation Patrol agents were notified late Friday of a panga boat journeying the U S -Mexico edge An hour later agents spotted the capsized vessel with several people emerging from the waters off Imperial Beach Of the nine people inferred to have been aboard the vessel four died and five were rescued detained or both federal authorities stated A probable-cause message attached to the criminal complaint lays out what investigators learned from the survivors four men and a woman all of whom reported they were Mexican citizens They stated they boarded the small blue boat in Rosarito late Friday As it headed north to the United States engine trouble hit The captain began to argue with others about whether to head back to Mexico one survivor recounted personnel The captain pressed ahead the surviving guest commented according to court documents and called someone to request a closer drop location Then the boat capsized Bad weather rough seas a dangerous and overloaded vessel these were all risks that handlers were willing to disregard in their desire for profit mentioned U S Attorney Adam Gordon in a report Maritime smuggling is extremely dangerous and we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law every individual responsible for these preventable tragedies Federal prosecutors identified the three deceased men as Bartolo Baltazar Baltazar Epifanio Molina Bravo and Hector Lopez Lopez The Mexican Consulate in San Diego certified that they were Mexican nationals two from the state of Veracruz and one from Guanajuato A woman who has not yet been identified was also among the casualties Barrera the accused captain explained officers that he was not the operator but a visitor and had paid more than to be smuggled across the demarcation according to the court document He informed investigators the operator of the boat was a skinny man around his age But when he was shown photos of all the people rescued or recovered from the situation he explained the operator was not in the photographs The man charged with illegal re-entry explained agents he d agreed to pay about to be brought to the U S and was hoping to be with family in the Riverside area He was deported from the U S after conviction of a felony in The court document states he has had his order of removal reinstated three times the last removal came less than two weeks before the deadly capsizing