Colombian Woman Sentenced To 66 Months In Federal Prison For Her Involvement In A Human Smuggling Conspiracy Related To The Gulf Cartel

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Lina Alejandra Martinez-Munoz, 28, a Colombian National, was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison for conspiracy to bring an alien to the United States. The sentence was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

“International cartels and human smugglers employed by them pose a serious threat to our nation,” said U.S. Attorney Coody. “These smugglers profit from the exploitation of others, often exposing them to violence, injury, and death.  With our law enforcement partners, we remain committed to identifying and aggressively prosecuting those who violate the sovereignty and security of our nation.  This sentence addresses the defendant’s conduct and illustrates the resulting punishment.”

According to court documents, between December 2020 and June 2023, Martinez-Munoz was part of a group connected to the Cartel Del Golfo (“CDG”), also known as the Gulf Cartel, based in Matamoros, Mexico that smuggled more than one hundred non-citizens into the United States illegally across the United States’ border with Mexico for the purpose of private financial gain.

This investigation resulted from a Florida Highway Patrol traffic stop of Martinez-Munoz’s co-defendant on Interstate 10 in Jefferson County, Florida. Troopers located bundles of U.S. currency, two firearms, numerous foreign passports, identification cards, and a notebook containing payments that listed smuggling fees for females, males, and children from different countries, including Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Colombia.

“Smugglers are opportunistic, greedy, and have sophisticated communications networks to illegally import people into the U.S. as if they were a commodity,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tallahassee Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. “This smuggler was not able to thwart law enforcement detection, and thanks to our partnerships with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Florida Highway Patrol, she will now face the consequences of her actions.”

The case was investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Homeland Security Investigations.  Assistant United States Attorney Corey J. Smith prosecuted the case.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.