A Guatemalan man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for his role in a human smuggling operation that held migrants hostage in Central Texas while demanding ransom payments from their families, federal prosecutors said.
Edwin Alfredo Barrientos-Mateo, 23, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit hostage taking and was sentenced this week in federal court. Authorities said Barrientos-Mateo was part of a smuggling network that confined nine undocumented migrants inside an Austin apartment while demanding $21,000 for their release.
Among those held were a pregnant woman, an adult man and the couple’s 7-year-old child, according to court records. Prosecutors said the victims were transported through South Texas before being taken to the apartment, where they were guarded and threatened while smugglers contacted relatives to collect ransom payments.
The case came to light after investigators received information in Eagle Pass, a border city along the Rio Grande, leading federal agents to the Austin stash house. Barrientos-Mateo was arrested in May 2024 and later admitted his role in the operation.
Eight other defendants were charged in connection with the smuggling ring. One co-defendant, Nelson Abilio Castro-Zelaya, was previously sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.
Federal prosecutors said the lengthy sentence reflects the seriousness of hostage-taking cases involving migrants, particularly when families and children are placed at risk. Authorities have increasingly used federal extortion and hostage-taking statutes to pursue long prison terms against smuggling organizations operating in Texas.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of Texas.