Albuquerque –
Federal authorities have charged two men with harboring illegal aliens following a kidnapping and human smuggling investigation in Albuquerque.
Court documents state that on March 1, 2025, a complainant informed the FBI that kidnappers had abducted their spouse and were demanding a ransom. The suspects demanded 90,000 quetzales (approximately $11,600) and threatened to hand the victim over to the Zeta Cartel if the payment was not made. They also sent the family “proof of life” videos.
Agents used phone data from the ransom calls to trace the location to a residence in southwest Albuquerque. On March 2, agents executed a search warrant at the home, where they found 11 undocumented immigrants, including an unaccompanied minor, along with defendants Isaias David Jose and Tomas Mateo Gaspar. The home was sparsely furnished and contained more than 20 cell phones and a ledger documenting smuggling activity.
The victims reported that the suspects had locked them in rooms, threatened them with violence or transfer to criminal organizations, and warned them not to contact law enforcement. Authorities identified Jose and Gaspar as the individuals operating the stash house and producing the ransom videos.
A grand jury indicted Jose and Gaspar for harboring an illegal alien and aiding and abetting. They will remain in custody until their trial, scheduled for August 11, 2025. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Philip Russell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced the charges today.
The FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office led the investigation, with support from the Department of Homeland Security. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec is prosecuting the case as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative mobilizing the Department of Justice’s full resources to combat illegal immigration, dismantle cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime.
You can read the indictment here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/media/1403751/dl?inline
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[…] Agents used phone data from the ransom calls to trace the location to a residence in southwest Albuquerque. On March 2, agents executed a search warrant at the home. More Here […]