Quebec man extradited to U.S. after pregnant migrant dies in border crossing attempt

U.S. officials accidental a Colombian antheral who was surviving successful Quebec has been extradited and arraigned successful transportation with the lawsuit of a large Mexican pistillate who died portion trying to transverse a frigid stream aft illegally entering the United States successful 2023.

The U.S. attorney’s bureau for the bluish District of New York has charged Jhader Augusto Uribe-Tobar, 36, with 3 smuggling-related counts successful narration to the decease of Ana Karen Vasquez-Flores.

The assemblage of 33-year-old Vasquez-Flores was recovered successful the Great Chazy River adjacent Champlain, N.Y., connected Dec. 14, 2023, 2 days aft her hubby alerted a borderline patrol cause that she had not emerged from the woods connected the American broadside of the border.

In a quality release, U.S. lawyer Carla Freedman said the calamity highlights the dangers of amerciable migration and however smugglers enactment radical successful information for profit.

“By vigorously prosecuting quality smuggling networks, we are deterring and reducing the fig of unsafe crossings similar the 1 that took the lives of this young pistillate and her unborn child,” she said.

American authorities allege that Uribe-Tobar advertised his services connected TikTok nether a pseudonym and charged the pistillate and her hubby US$2,500 to usher her by physics connection arsenic she attempted to transverse the borderline unsocial connected foot. They allege Vasquez-Flores was told she would beryllium capable to wade crossed the river.

Documents filed by U.S. officials successful Quebec Superior Court allege that her husband, Miguel Mojarro-Magna, had contacted the TikTok relationship and was told the travel to the United States could instrumentality up to 3 hours.

Uribe-Tobar pleaded not blameworthy connected Thursday to national charges of alien smuggling and conspiracy to perpetrate alien smuggling and was detained pending a trial. None of the allegations person been proven successful court, and his national nationalist defender declined remark to The Associated Press.

Message exchanges provided successful U.S. tribunal filings amusement Uribe-Tobar allegedly texted Vasquez-Flores’s hubby connected the evening of Dec. 11, 2023, to accidental his woman was crossing the river. “I’m precise nervous,” the hubby texted successful return.

Just aft 7 p.m., the hubby received a reply saying, “Bro, hello, I deliberation she got bedewed oregon turned disconnected her cellphone.”

The connection exchanges allegedly continued, and the hubby alerted authorities to his wife’s disappearance the adjacent day.

Uribe-Tobar was arrested successful precocious December 2023 successful St-Hyacinthe, Que. A Quebec Superior Court justice ordered his committal for extradition successful May, according to the national Justice Department, aft which the lawsuit proceeded done a ministerial signifier that required the justness curate to o.k. the surrender.

According to the U.S. attorney’s office, the charges against Uribe-Tobar transportation a minimum word of 3 years and a maximum of beingness successful prison.

This study by The Canadian Press was archetypal published Feb. 6, 2025.

— With files from The Associated Press