DEL RIO, Texas – An Eagle Pass man was sentenced to 14 years and two months in prison for his role in a human smuggling operation, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
Rodolfo Daniel De Hoyos, 22, received the sentence on Monday inside a courtroom in Del Rio, Texas.
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De Hoyos had pleaded guilty to count one of a six-count indictment on Nov. 26, 2025, the DOJ said in a Tuesday news release.
He was previously taken into custody on Nov. 22, 2021, after Texas Department of Public Safety troopers observed three passengers in his vehicle wearing dirty clothes, hiking boots and camouflage backpacks.
De Hoyos later admitted that the passengers were Guatemalan immigrants whom he attempted to smuggle to Del Rio, the release states. De Hoyos allegedly told investigators that he would have been paid $1,500 for the operation.
He was arrested again in August 2023 after smuggling immigrants for his accomplice, Anthony Ballones, Jr., with whom he had worked for approximately a year.
The DOJ said De Hoyos was involved with another smuggling operation from San Antonio to Austin, which included an immigrant family who was taken hostage.
The family consisted of a man, a pregnant woman and their 7-year-old boy.
According to federal officials, De Hoyos and members of a human smuggling organization sexually assaulted the pregnant woman. They also threatened to kill the boy and sell the unborn child if payments were not made.
A family relative paid at least $1,000 to the organization due to the threats.
Four co-defendants in the case, according to the DOJ, have received prison sentences:
- Edwin Alfredo Barrientos-Mateo and Nelson Abilio Castro-Zelaya (30 years and 15 years)
- Tomas Estrada-Torres (12 years and seven months)
The DOJ stated that four additional defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
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