EL PASO, TX – Four individuals have been charged in connection with a scheme to smuggle children from Mexico into the United States, sometimes using THC-laced candy to sedate them during smuggling attempts.
According to court documents, Mexican nationals Susana Guadian and Daniel Guadian, both 50; Dianne Guadian, 32, a U.S. citizen; and Manuel Valenzuela, 35, a lawful permanent resident residing in El Paso, were charged in the Western District of Texas with conspiracy to transport aliens and bringing aliens into the United States for financial gain.
Between May 1 and Oct. 17, 2024, the defendants were allegedly part of an alien smuggling organization that brought unaccompanied children between the ages of five and 13 into the United States from Juarez, Mexico. The complaint alleges that drivers recruited by Susana and Daniel Guadian presented falsified U.S. documents at ports of entry, claiming the children were theirs. During at least one event, children were given gummy candies containing marijuana to sedate them, and one child was later hospitalized and diagnosed with marijuana poisoning.
Once inside the United States, children were transported to El Paso, where Dianne Guadian and Manuel Valenzuela allegedly paid drivers $900 per child. Dianne Guadian and Valenzuela were arrested in El Paso on Aug. 30 and had initial appearances Sept. 2.
The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso and U.S. Border Patrol with support from HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., and Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force. Trial Attorney Bethany Allen of the Justice Department’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Hines are prosecuting the case.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a Justice Department initiative targeting cartels and transnational criminal organizations, supported by Joint Task Force Alpha. To date, the task force has resulted in more than 410 arrests, 355 convictions, and the forfeiture of substantial assets.
