A 35-year-old Mexican national was sentenced to five years in prison on July 1 for his role in a child trafficking operation.
According to court documents, Manuel Valenzuela was a member of an illegal alien smuggling organization that trafficked children across the southern border, and he sometimes used candy laced with THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) before smuggling them across the border while claiming to be their parents and using fake documentation.
THC is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
Valenzuela and the other members of the organization smuggled unaccompanied children between ages 5 and 13 from Juarez, Mexico, across the border.
Prosecutors said that during one such border crossing, a child was diagnosed with THC poisoning and taken to a hospital. Another photo included in the release showed THC gummies seized during a secondary inspection at a port of entry.
Other photos with the press release showed a surveillance camera shot of Valenzuela in a truck at a border checkpoint.
The drivers and other traffickers would present false documentation—purportedly belonging to the children—to immigration officers upon inspection, in order to falsely claim that the traffickers were parents of the children. Upon crossing the border, the children were transported to El Paso.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso Division and D.C.-based Human Smuggling Unit; U.S. Border Patrol; and Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force. It was prosecuted in the Western District of Texas.
“Drug traffickers who exploit children as part of their criminal schemes show total disregard for human life and safety,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan G. McRae of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement HSI El Paso. “Using THC-infused candy to facilitate the smuggling of children across the border into the United States is reprehensible and cruel and puts vulnerable minors at serious risk.”
Valenzuela was arraigned on Nov. 10, 2025; he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport aliens, three counts of bringing aliens without authorization for financial gain, and one count of aiding and abetting.