January 1, Mexican Smuggler Gets Five Years After Drugging Children With THIS at Border

Wyatt’s Take

• Mexican national Manuel Valenzuela, 35, sentenced to five years for smuggling children as young as 5 across the border using THC-laced candy to sedate them — one child was hospitalized with drug poisoning.
• Smugglers posed as parents using fake U.S. IDs to sneak unaccompanied kids ages 5-13 from Juárez into El Paso between May and October 2024.
• Justice Department says this shows how ‘heinous’ border crimes have become under failed policies — criminals exploit open borders to traffic vulnerable children with ‘total disregard for human life.’

A Mexican national was sentenced Wednesday to five years in federal prison after admitting he participated in a border smuggling operation that used THC-laced candy to drug children as young as 5 before sneaking them into the United States. Federal prosecutors say one child suffered THC poisoning and had to be hospitalized after being given the drug-laced candy during one of the smuggling runs.

Manuel Valenzuela, 35, pleaded guilty last November to one count of conspiracy to transport aliens, three counts of bringing aliens into the United States for financial gain, and one count of aiding and abetting.

Valenzuela was one of four people charged last year in the smuggling scheme. Prosecutors accused the group of transporting unaccompanied children between the ages of 5 and 13 from Juárez, Mexico, into the United States.

According to court documents, the smugglers presented fake U.S. identification documents to border officers while falsely claiming the children were their own. The children were then transported to El Paso after crossing the border.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division condemned the operation.

“Needing to sedate children with THC under the guise of giving them candy shows just how heinous crimes like this are.”

“Smuggling unaccompanied children into the country, pretending to be their parents, and then lying to U.S. immigration officials shows the lengths to which criminals like this will go to smuggle children across our borders,” Duva continued.

“The Criminal Division and our law enforcement partners will put an end to this conduct. Protecting children and keeping our borders safe go hand-in-hand.”

Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan McRae of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations El Paso said using children in smuggling operations shows a “total disregard for human life and safety.”

“Using THC-infused candy to facilitate the smuggling of children across the border into the United States is reprehensible and cruel and puts vulnerable minors at serious risk,” McRae said.

“HSI will relentlessly pursue transnational criminal organizations responsible for these heinous tactics and bring them to justice.”

According to the criminal complaint, the smuggling events took place between May 1 and October 18, 2024. Prosecutors said proof-of-life photographs of some of the children were recovered from the suspects’ cellphones.

Why It Matters

This isn’t just about one criminal getting sentenced. It’s about what’s been happening at our border while Washington looked the other way. Drugging little kids with marijuana candy to sneak them across — that’s evil, plain and simple. These children deserve protection, and our borders deserve to be secure. When the cartels and smugglers know they can get away with this kind of wickedness, they’ll keep doing it. American families need to know who’s been crossing our border and what kind of criminals have been taking advantage of policies that put feelings before safety.