A man extradited from Canada was arraigned on human smuggling charges Thursday in the case of a 33-year-old pregnant woman found dead in a frigid northern New York river after she illegally crossed the border, according to federal authorities.
The body of Ana Vasquez-Flores of Mexico was found in the Great Chazy River just south of the Canadian border on Dec. 14, 2023, two days after her husband told U.S. border agents she had crossed illegally and was lost. Searchers found footprints in the snow leading to the river, where she drowned, according to federal authorities.
Vasquez-Flores’ death came amid a surge of people crossing into New York and New England from Canada. The incident became an example of the perils migrants face trekking through the wooded and often snowy landscape along the U.S.-Canada border.
Jhader Augusto Uribe-Tobar, 36, is accused by federal prosecutors of smuggling Vasquez-Flores into the United States for $2,500 and instructing her to wade through the river in the dark.
Uribe-Tobar pleaded not guilty to federal charges of alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling. He was detained pending a trial. Prosecutors say he is a citizen of Colombia and lives in Quebec, Canada.
“This tragedy highlights the dangers of illegal migration and how, as alleged, smugglers deliberately put people in harm’s way for profit,” U.S. Attorney Carla Freedman said in a prepared statement.
Carlos Osorio / REUTERS
Uribe-Tobar’s federal public defender declined comment in an email. The charges carry a minimum term of 3 years and a maximum term of life in prison.
At the time of Vasquez-Flores’ death, U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Swanton Sector near the border reported huge spikes in the numbers of people crossing on foot from Canada into the U.S., CBC reported. In March 2024, CBS Boston visited the Swanton Sector, and Border Patrol had already arrested a record 7,000 people in fiscal year 2023.
Illegal crossings have continued to skyrocket with roughly 19,000 people arrested in fiscal year 2024. That is about the same amount as the last 17 years combined. Although, Customs and Border Protection notes that the Swanton Sector has seen a 52-percent reduction in encounters since the height of crossings in June.
In 2022, the bodies of four people, including a baby and a teenager, were found in Canada near the U.S. border in what authorities believe was a failed crossing attempt during a freezing blizzard. Prosecutors say the family of four — 39-year-old Jagdish Patel; his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s; their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and 3-year-old son, Dharmik — died on Jan. 19, 2022, after spending hours wandering in blizzard conditions.
Prosecutors said Indian national Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel ran part of a sprawling human smuggling scheme and recruited Steve Shand to shuttle the migrants across the border.
