SEBRING, Fla. — A Sebring woman is being charged after a human smuggling venture ended in multiple deaths, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
Yaqulelin Dominguez-Nieves, 25, of Sebring, was detained pending trial on Friday (June 21).
Dominguez-Nieves allegedly participated in a smuggling venture for commercial gain that resulted in the death of approximately 16 people on November 16, 2022. Four of those people were recovered at sea and were found to have died by drowning.
According to court documents, the individuals, including many children, were allegedly being smuggled in a boat headed to the Southern District of Florida that sank about 30 miles off the coast of Cuba. A survivor said that the boat was overloaded and did not contain any life vests.
Dominguez-Nieves faces 10 counts of "encouraging and inducing or attempting to bring aliens into the US resulting in death," according to the DOJ. She could receive life in prison or death if she is convicted
Dominguez-Nieves was arrested by CGIS Special Agents.
US Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida said, "Human smuggling ventures put people's lives at risk for the sake of profit. Human smugglers prey on the migrants' hopes for a better life. Tragically, the smugglers' exploits pose a grave danger to migrants."
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