Firefighters extinguish a car fire on Nova Scotia’s Highway 102. (shaunl / Getty Images)
By Joe Saunders October 22, 2026 at 7:36am
Three leaders of a brutal, multimillion-dollar human smuggling operation that left at least one man dead have been convicted on a slew of charges, federal prosecutors announced this week.
In a Wednesday news release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas said a jury found the men guilty of running a ring that carried illegal aliens from Mexico into the United States.
In the course of operations, one man was shot to death, and a member of the ring tried to get rid of the evidence by disposing of the body.
ICYMI: They ran a multimillion-dollar human smuggling operation—even from prison—and its enforcer tried to dissolve a murder victim’s body in acid before burning it inside a vehicle, according to @TheJusticeDept. Now, a federal jury in Del Rio has convicted three men in the case: Israel Ramirez-Perez, Ricardo Rojas Vazquez and David Christopher Ewell. All three were found guilty of conspiring to transport illegal immigrants resulting in death, transporting illegal immigrants resulting in death and conspiring to transport illegal immigrants while placing lives in jeopardy. Ramirez-Perez and Rojas Vazquez were also convicted of transporting illegal immigrants while placing lives in jeopardy. The DoJ says Rojas Vazquez ran the organization’s operations in Mexico and ordered the murder of Edgar Ponce Campos. Ramirez-Perez—the organization’s enforcer—shot Ponce several times, then tried to dispose of his body in acid. When that didn’t work, Ramirez-Perez put the body in a vehicle, poured gasoline on it and set it on fire. Trial evidence showed he filmed the burning vehicle, shot at it and sent the video to co-conspirator Alejandro Santoyo-Guzman. Meanwhile, Ewell and other defendants continued helping run the organization from an Oklahoma prison. Ewell worked with his significant other, Marcelina Truxillo-Logan, communicating with Jessica Castillo-Guzman, who handled the money. Prosecutors say the smuggling organization made more than $5 million over the course of the conspiracy. The convictions are part of a Homeland Security Task Force prosecution in the Western District of Texas.
— Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) October 21, 2026
The convicted men were identified as Israel Ramirez-Perez, Ricardo Rojas Vazquez, and David Christopher Ewell.
The ring brought in more than $5 million, according to the release, with the money managed by a co-defendant, identified as Jessica Castillo-Guzman. The release did not include details about legal action against Castillo-Guzman.
Several of the defendants, including Ewell, ran the ring while imprisoned by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, according to the release.
Ramirez-Perez was the ring’s “enforcer,” the release stated.
On the orders of Rojas Vazquez, Ramirez-Perez shot a man to death — then went even further.
“Evidence presented at trial revealed that Rojas Vazquez ordered the murder of Edgar Ponce Campos. Ramirez-Perez shot Ponce several times,” the release said.
“After the fatal shooting, Ramirez-Perez attempted to dispose of Ponce’s body by dipping it in acid. When that proved unsuccessful, Ramirez-Perez placed the body in a vehicle, poured gasoline on it, and set it on fire.”
The release did not state the victim’s relationship to the ring.
U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons said the case illustrated the ugly realities of illegal immigration.
“As I’ve said many times, Alien Smuggling Organizations care nothing about the lives, hopes and dreams of those they smuggle,” Simmons said in the release.
“They only care about their money. Even once aliens arrive in the U.S., alien smuggling organizations will often extort and terrorize the aliens and their families until additional fees are paid,” he added.
Cracking down on illegal immigration has been a signature issue for President Donald Trump.
How concerned are you about the impact of illegal immigration on your community?
After Trump’s first term ended in January 2021, the Biden administration opened the floodgates at the southern border, allowing millions of illegal aliens to stream into the country without inspection.
Over the years, high-profile crimes committed by illegal aliens returned the issue to the forefront of election politics.
Since Trump’s return to office, illegal immigration has slowed to a fraction of what it was during President Joe Biden’s administration.
In the news release, Simmons emphasized how alien smuggling rings present dangers far from the brutality of the border.
“These organizations also use the safety of homes in U.S. neighborhoods to hide those they smuggle and facilitate their illegal, extortionist schemes, endangering Americans who live close by,” he said.
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Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro desk editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He’s been with Liftable Media since 2015.
Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He’s been with Liftable Media since 2015. Largely a product of Catholic schools, who discovered Ayn Rand in college, Joe is a lifelong newspaperman who learned enough about the trade to be skeptical of every word ever written. He was also lucky enough to have a job that didn’t need a printing press to do it.
Birthplace
Philadelphia
Nationality
American
