Coast Guard stops cuddy boat carrying migrants

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A Mexican man who says smugglers offered to cut his debt by nearly half if he piloted a boatful of migrants to Imperial Beach, California, is facing federal felony charges.

The U.S. Coast Guard identified Santos Panduro Muñoz as the captain of a suspicious small cuddy boat transporting several people just off the California coast on Sunday near Imperial Beach.

The Coast Guard boarded the vessel for a safety inspection and notified the U.S. Border Patrol of possible migrants on board. The Coast Guard towed the vessel to its Lifeguard Headquarters in Mission Bay where a border agent was waiting to interview the captain and passengers.

Court documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California show the Border Patrol arrested the eight occupants of the boat for being in the United States illegally.

Agents read Panduro his rights and he allegedly consented to make a statement. Panduro said he committed to paying a smuggling organization in Mexico $15,000 to take him from the western Mexican state of Jalisco to San Bernardino, California. He said he needed to work in the U.S. to pay for an unspecified medical treatment for his son.

The smugglers offered to knock off $7,000 off his fee if he agreed to pilot the cuddy boat to California, Panduro allegedly told investigators.

Based on Coast Guard observations, the Border Patrol also questioned passenger Mauricio Miguel Ponce Rodriguez. The Mexican national allegedly admitted to assisting Panduro by using Google Maps while at sea. Court documents show Ponce volunteered to the agents he “helped” with gas and refueling of the cuddy boat.

When asked if the smugglers were going to discount his transportation fee for helping the captain, Ponce allegedly said no.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office on Tuesday filed migrant smuggling charges against Panduro and Ponce. They’re scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing Aug. 22 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara L. Major in San Diego.

The remaining six migrants were placed in removal proceedings.

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