Colombian National Sentenced for Smuggling Other Colombians Illegally into the United States

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Greiby Melissa Barcelo-Velasquez, 39, a Colombian national, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge John J. Tuchi to 30 months in prison for Conspiracy to Encourage and Induce an Alien to Unlawfully Enter the United States.

Court documents show that federal agents identified over 100 individuals who used Barcelo-Velasquez’s organization to be smuggled illegally into the United States through Arizona.

Since approximately June 2023, Barcelo-Velasquez owned and operated the Baul Travel SAS travel agency in Colombia. In late 2023, United States Border Patrol Sector Intelligence and Homeland Security Investigations began investigating Barcelo-Velasquez after arresting numerous Colombian nationals who identified her as their smuggling coordinator.

Barcelo-Velasquez would meet with the Colombian nationals in Colombia, charge them a fee, and then inform them they would travel to Mexico under the false pretense they were vacationing in the country. They were also informed they would need to pay additional fees to her associates in U.S. currency at airports in Cancun or Mexico City to bribe officials to facilitate their travel. Once in Hermosillo, Mexico, the Colombian nationals were taken to stash houses near the border between Mexico and the United States. These stash houses held people from around the world who were also waiting to illegally cross into the United States. From there, they were transported, often by armed gunmen, to the border where they illegally crossed into the United States.

This case is the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). JTFA, a partnership with DHS, has been elevated and expanded with a mandate to target cartels and transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border, including the Southern District of California, District of Arizona, District of New Mexico, and Western and Southern Districts of Texas. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section; Office of Enforcement Operations; and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, DEA, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 355 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 320 U.S. convictions; more than 265 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.

Customs and Border Protection’s United States Border Patrol Sector Intelligence Unit and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Stuart Zander and Adriana Genco, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:           CR-24-00392-PHX-JJT
RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-045_Barcelo-Velasquez