Pregnant woman died trying to cross the border with the United States after the smuggler told him to pass through Frigid River, prosecutors say

An extradited man from Canada was prosecuted for human smuggling positions on Thursday in the case of a 33 -year -old pregnant woman found dead in a frigid River in Northern New York after she illegally crossed the border, according to Federal authorities.

The body of Ana Vásquez-Flores of Mexico was found in the great Chazy River, just south of the Canadian border on December 14, 2023, two days after her husband told us to the border agents that she had crossed illegally and that It was lost. The search engines found traces in the snow that lead to the river, where it drowned, according to federal authorities.

The death of Vásquez-Flores occurred in the middle of a wave of people who crossed New York and New England from Canada. The incident became an example of the dangers that migrants face trekking through the forest landscape already often snowed along the border between the United States.

Jhader Augusto Uribe-Tobar, 36, is accused by federal prosecutors to smuggle Vásquez-Flores in the United States for $ 2,500 and instruct him to pass through the river in the dark.

Uribe-Tobar declared himself innocent of federal smuggling and conspiracy positions to commit an alien smuggling. He was arrested waiting for a trial. Prosecutors say he is a citizen of Colombia and lives in Quebec, Canada.

“This tragedy highlights the dangers of illegal migration and how, as it alleges, smugglers deliberately put people in danger,” said the Fiscal Prosecutor of the United States, Carla Freedman. statement.

The Federal Public Defender of Uribe-Tobar declined to comment on an email. The charges have a minimum period of 3 years and a maximum life period in prison.

At the time of the death of Vásquez-Flores, the border patrol agents of the United States of the Swanton sector near the border reported huge peaks in the number of people crossing on foot from Canada to the United States, CBC reported. In March 2024, CBS Boston visited the Swanton sectorand the border patrol had already arrested a record of 7,000 people in fiscal year 2023.

Illegal crosses have He continued shooting With approximately 19,000 people arrested in fiscal year 2024. That is approximately the same amount as the last 17 years combined. Although, customs and border protection notes that the Swanton sector has seen a 52 percent reduction in the meetings from the height of the crosses in June.

In 2022, the Bodies of four peopleIncluding a baby and a teenager, they found themselves in Canada near the American border in what the authorities believe it was an attempt to cross crossing during a frost cavity. Prosecutors say The four -year -old -Jagdish Patel, 39; His wife, Vaishaliben, who was about 30 years old; his 11 -year -old daughter, Hangangi; And 3 -year -old son, Dharmik, died on January 19, 2022, after spending hours wandering in snowstorm conditions.

Prosecutors said the National Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel’s Indian led part of an extensive human smuggling scheme and recruited Steve Shand to transport migrants through the border.