Colombian smuggler pleads guilty in El Paso, 40 lost at sea
A Colombian national pleaded guilty in El Paso on Monday to charges tied to a human smuggling conspiracy in which 40 migrants and two boat captains disappeared at sea. Luis Enrique Linero Pinto, 41, entered the plea to conspiracy to commit immigrant smuggling and placing lives in jeopardy, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Linero Pinto, also known as “El Calvo,” faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“Linero Pinto played a critical role in a prolific human smuggling conspiracy that used corruption and illicit means of transport to move aliens from Colombia to the United States for money,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
“During the transport, dozens of people disappeared at sea, never to be seen or heard from again.”
U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas said: “While we grieve the lives lost due to this defendant’s conduct, it is right and good to applaud the tireless work of our special agents and prosecutors that secured this conviction and to highlight yet another successful international partnership.”
“Human smuggling organizations, by definition, engage in cross-border operations, so they can only be dismantled through cross-border partnerships,” Simmons said.
Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan G. McRae of Homeland Security Investigations El Paso said: “Human smuggling organizations put profit over human life, exploiting vulnerable people and placing them in dangerous, often deadly conditions.”
“This guilty plea reflects HSI’s commitment to working with our domestic and international partners to identify, investigate and bring to justice those who facilitate these dangerous smuggling schemes,” McRae said.
According to the indictment and court documents, Linero Pinto advised migrants on how to get to San Andres Island, Colombia, where he received them, arranged for their accommodation and brought them to boats that transported them to Nicaragua so they could illegally enter the United States.
Linero Pinto bribed members of the Colombian Navy to acquire real-time intelligence about the position of Navy patrol vessels between San Andres Island and Nicaragua, enabling the boats to avoid detection.
On Oct. 21, 2023, a boat carrying approximately 40 migrants and two boat captains disappeared on its way to Nicaragua after leaving San Andreas Island. Linero Pinto has admitted his role in smuggling the immigrants on that boat.
Linero Pinto was charged in October 2024. He was arrested in Colombia in December 2024 at the request of the U.S. government. His extradition followed coordination between U.S. and Colombian law enforcement authorities. He made his initial appearance in federal court in El Paso in December 2025.
Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation, with assistance from its McAllen, El Paso and Cartagena field offices. HSI’s Human Smalling Unit in Washington, D.C., U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force, the Justice Department’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training, Office of International Affairs and Judicial Attaché Office in Bogotá provided assistance.
The investigation and indictment were coordinated and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha, the department’s lead effort in combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
