The following information, including the headline, was provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, Western District of Texas.
DEL RIO — An Eagle Pass man was sentenced Monday in federal court in Del Rio to 170 months in prison for his role in a human smuggling operation that involved kidnapping and the sexual assault of a pregnant woman.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons of the Western District of Texas.
According to court documents, Rodolfo Daniel De Hoyos, also known as “Rufles,” 22, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy.
Authorities said De Hoyos was first arrested Nov. 22, 2021, in Kinney County after a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper stopped his vehicle and observed three passengers wearing dirty clothing, hiking boots and camouflage backpacks.
De Hoyos admitted the passengers were migrants from Guatemala whom he was transporting to Del Rio. He told authorities he was to be paid $1,500 for the smuggling attempt.
De Hoyos was arrested again in August 2023 for transporting migrants for co-conspirator Anthony Ballones Jr. Investigators later found information corroborating the smuggling activity on De Hoyos’ cellphone.
The 2023 incident involved transporting a family from San Antonio to Austin. The family — a man, a pregnant woman and their 7-year-old child — was taken hostage by members of the smuggling organization.
According to prosecutors, the pregnant woman was sexually assaulted while the suspects threatened to kill the couple’s child if ransom payments were not made. The smugglers also threatened to sell the woman’s unborn child if they did not receive the money they demanded.
A relative of the victims paid at least $1,000 on July 9, 2023, but the smuggling organization continued to demand additional payments to multiple accounts before releasing the family.
Authorities said De Hoyos had been working with Ballones for approximately one year before his arrest.
De Hoyos pleaded guilty Nov. 26, 2024, to one count of a six-count federal indictment.
Several co-defendants have already been sentenced for their roles in the case.
On Feb. 11, Juan Antonio Flores was sentenced to 212 months in prison. Edwin Alfredo Barrientos-Mateo received a 360-month sentence, while Nelson Abilio Castro-Zelaya was sentenced to 180 months. Tomas Estrada-Torres received a sentence of 151 months.
Four other defendants — Ambar Obregon, Pedro Ruiz Gonzalez, Armando Garcia-Martinez and Ballones Jr. — have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses is presiding over the case.
The investigation was conducted by ICE Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner prosecuted the case.
