Vanessa Valadez, 23, from Laredo, pleaded guilty on Friday to working with her family to smuggle children under the age of five from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, between August and September 2023.
In one instance, a co-conspirator sent a message with a photo of an unconscious girl, stating, “La noquiamos con unas gomitas,” which translates to, “we knocked her out with some gummies.”
According to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Valadez and her family smuggled at least four young girls across the border, drugging them before using fake birth certificates to pose as their relatives.
Once in Laredo, the girls were transported deeper into the U.S. and left with unidentified individuals for unknown reasons. The trafficking operation was stopped on September 21, 2023, during a routine inspection by border agents.
HSI reported that three of the trafficked girls remain unidentified, and their whereabouts are still unknown.
Valadez’s accomplices, all of whom have already pleaded guilty, include Ana Laura Bryand, 47; her niece, Kayla Marie Bryand, 20; Jose Eduardo Bryand, 43; Nancy Guadalupe Bryand, 44; and Lizeth Esmeralda Bryand Arredondo, 32, from Mexico.
These shocking confessions come amid growing concerns from U.S. border agents about the rising incidence of child trafficking along the southern border.
Border Patrol sources have observed an increase in smugglers using children to pose as family units, with some children reappearing at the border multiple times, each time with different adults.
