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Cuban woman pleads guilty to human smuggling plot that led to 16 deaths: US prosecutors

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Cuban woman pleads guilty to human smuggling plot that led to 16 deaths

ISTANBUL

A Cuban woman who organized a 2022 human smuggling trip from Cuba to Florida, resulting in the deaths of 16 people, has pleaded guilty to federal charges, US prosecutors said Friday.

Yaquelin Dominguez-Nieves, 26, who is unlawfully present in the US, admitted on Tuesday to “conspiring to smuggle aliens into the United States,” the US Attorney’s Office in Miami said.

Under a plea deal, Dominguez-Nieves acknowledged collecting over $11,500 from the families of migrants in the US and sending the funds to her boyfriend in Cuba, who arranged for the migrants to board a fishing boat.

The vessel departed from Playa Jaimanitas, Cuba, on Nov. 16, 2022, but sank after traveling just 30 miles (48 kilometers). Of the 18 passengers, only two survived.

According to authorities, the survivors said the boat lacked life jackets, and the captain “did not appear to know how to operate the vessel.”

The charges carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum of five years, according to prosecutors.

While the plea deal does not specify the sentence that will be sought, it suggests a possible reduction due to her cooperation. Sentencing is scheduled for April 11.

In 2022, at least 269 migrants, primarily traveling to the US mainland or Puerto Rico, died while attempting to cross the Caribbean Sea, according to the International Organization for Migration.

A 2023 report from the organization also noted 686 migrant deaths recorded at the US-Mexico border that year.

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