Guide For 14 Illegal Immigrants Who Died In Desert Gets 16 Years In Prison
By Hernán Rozemberg
Originally published in The Arizona Republic, February 22, 2002
A guide for an illegal immigrant smuggling operation that left 14 Mexicans dead in the desert east of Yuma last year was sentenced Friday to 16 years in prison.
After considering last-minute evidence, including testimony from some of the 11 migrants who survived the treacherous four-day ordeal last May, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton sentenced Jesus López Ramos, 21, of Guadalajara, Jalisco, to 16 years in jail. He also has to pay a $2,500 fine.
López Ramos nearly died along with 14 of his charges while crossing the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife refuge in mid-May.
Prosecutors said that López Ramos, who at first claimed innocence but later pleaded guilty to 25 felony smuggling charges, was part of a well-organized ring involving 10 other people in Mexico. Three others, including two in Florida where the migrants where destined, have already been identified.
According to reports released by prosecutors last year, the group crossed the border near Lukeville last May 19 with a destination of Arizona 85 just north of Ajo. There, they were to meet cars that would ferry them to Phoenix, where they would hook up with transportation to final destinations in Chicago and Lake Placid, Fla. López Ramos was to get $100 for each immigrant he safely delivered to the meeting point near Ajo.
According to court records and an account given to prosecutors by López Ramos, the trip went wrong from the start. After being dropped in the desert by a van, the group encountered roving U.S. Border Patrol agents. They scattered and hid for several hours, but López Ramos said "several of the undocumented aliens lost their water."
One guide and two immigrants eventually turned back. López Ramos, a third guide and the rest of the group kept walking, but soon ran out of water. By the evening of May 21, some in the group demanded that López Ramos and the other unidentified guide strike out ahead to find water and transportation through the grueling heat. Meanwhile, immigrants ate cactus and drank their own urine to stay alive.
López Ramos' companion eventually fell ill and quit walking, as did López Ramos.
On May 23, five immigrants were found barely alive near Wellton. A search began that eventually found 14 dead and 11 injured, spread across 25 miles of desert. López Ramos was also among the survivors. He'd made it to within 5 miles of Interstate 8 east of Yuma. The man who struck out with him in search of water was one of the dead. Most of the survivors were 30 miles from help, according the court records.
