Two suspected of smuggling Chinese migrants into Coral Gables held until trial: Judge
A federal judge ordered two of the four men charged with smuggling 26 people from China to a pricey waterfront Coral Gables neighborhood held until trial because they are deemed flight risks due to their ties to Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
The man accused of piloting the vessel that dropped the migrants off in the mangroves near Old Cutler Road on Jan. 28 only arrived in the United States six months ago from Cuba, has significant family ties to the island nation and has extensive experience operating boats, U.S. Magistrate Judge Eduardo Sanchez wrote in his Wednesday order.
And, one of the men caught by Coral Gables police driving one of the two vans that picked up the migrants was already facing deportation back to his home country of the Dominican Republic and had previously been deported after an aggravated sexual battery conviction, according to the order.
READ MORE: Chinese migrants picked up in Gables were headed to Orlando, man tells feds. Boat found
Both men, along with their two alleged accomplices, face up to 10 years in prison if they’re convicted on the smuggling charges, the judge wrote.
The incident was the second large arrival of Chinese migrants in the same area — near the Snapper Creek neighborhood, just south of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden — in January. And, that same day, a boat carrying Ecuadorans and Chinese people was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at sea in Biscayne Bay about 15 miles from Coral Gables, off Key Largo.
READ MORE: Cuban smuggler promised $5K, then caught with over 20 Chinese migrants in Miami: feds
Guillermo Elias Victor Lopez, 60, is the man federal agents say was driving the 29-foot center console that delivered the migrants to shore, where they trekked up a densely wooded trail to get to Old Cutler Road near Snapper Creek Marina.
When Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office marine patrol officers stopped the boat off the waters of Key Biscayne near Crandon Channel Marker 9 after he dropped them off, the vessel had mangrove leaves on the floor and on the Bimini top, as well as branch scratches on the hull, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Deputies also found a candy wrapper with Asian writing that matched candy that some of the migrants in the vans had on them, the complaint states.
The boat, which Lopez told agents he owned, was launched earlier that morning from Crandon Park Marina in Key Biscayne, according to the complaint.
In his order to keep Lopez detained, Judge Sanchez wrote that among the reasons for his decision was because Lopez had access to boats, is an experienced boat driver and is subject to deportation, “which creates an incentive to flee the country, especially given the totality of the circumstances presented.”
Eustacio Francisco Eusebio, 56, who cops found driving one of the vans, has a child and 18 siblings in the Dominican Republic, adding to the reasons Judge Sanchez ordered him not released before his trial.
Along with his criminal record and impending deportation, Sanchez also wrote that he believes Eusebio is a flight risk because when police detained him last month, he used an alias name, the order states.
Also arrested in the case are Joel Benjamin Eusubio, 24 — accused of driving the other van — and Enrique Loret de Mola, 64, who agents said delivered the boat to Crandon Park Marina that morning.
READ MORE: Migrant boat carrying Chinese, Ecuadorians stopped same day of Gables smuggling bust
The attorneys for Loret de Mola and Lopez did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Herald.
Miami criminal defense attorney Paul Petruzzi, who represents Eustacio and Joel Eusebio — who are father and son — said he asked for a bond for the older Eusebio, although he knew it was unlikely given his criminal record and the circumstances of his arrest.
“It’s the job of a defense lawyer to ensure everyone’s rights,” Petruzzi said.
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 5:40 PM.
