DOJ Indicts Three Guatemalans And Details Sentencing In Unaccompanied Minors Smuggling Case
The Justice Department announced indictments in Cleveland on Thursday, June 11, 2026, charging three Guatemalan nationals with using fraudulent Office of Refugee Resettlement sponsorship applications to smuggle and obtain custody of unaccompanied alien children.[1]
Prosecutors named siblings Maritza Azucena Cahuec Coc, 38, and Carlos Agustin Cahuec Coc, 33, accusing them of participating in an international alien smuggling conspiracy from about December 2020 to October 2023.[1] The indictment also charges 20-year-old Gladys Marina Caal Chen, who had been fraudulently sponsored as an unaccompanied alien child, with making false statements in a sponsorship application.[1] The release described another Guatemalan, 27-year-old Juan Tiul Xi, who pleaded guilty to smuggling a child in 2023 and to submitting a fraudulent sponsorship form claiming to be the child's brother.[1] Xi was convicted in state court of sexual battery of a child and sentenced to eight years, and he received an additional 26-month federal sentence to run consecutive to the state term.[1] Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and senior Justice and ICE officials publicly blamed prior administration policies for mismanaging the unaccompanied children program and pledged continued Joint Task Force Alpha focus on smuggling and sponsorship fraud.[1]
In 2023, the Office of Refugee Resettlement lost contact with more than 85,000 unaccompanied children released to sponsors, prompting congressional hearings that questioned weakened vetting policies such as the removal of proof-of-address requirements. A 2024 Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General report found gaps in ICE monitoring of released children, including incomplete addresses for tens of thousands and failures to issue required notices to appear. By September 2025 the Justice Department ordered U.S. attorneys to prioritize prosecutions of sponsors for fraud and trafficking-related offenses, and DHS and ICE launched efforts later that year to locate children placed with nonrelative "super sponsors."
Federal prosecutors had already pursued related cases, including a February 2026 guilty plea in a sponsorship fraud prosecution, as part of a wider enforcement push tied to those oversight findings. The department's Cleveland indictments add to that shift and put a spotlight on continuing questions about how the sponsorship system screens and monitors adults who receive custody of vulnerable children.
The mainstream summary does not mention the alarming scale of the problem, with over 15,500 cases of similar fraudulent sponsorship schemes identified by authorities, suggesting a much broader issue than the specific indictments of the three Guatemalan nationals. BlueSky users highlighted that these indictments are part of a larger pattern of exploitation within the unaccompanied minor sponsorship program, which has been severely affected by policy failures that disproportionately harm vulnerable children. Additionally, the summary overlooks the significant increase in unaccompanied children released to sponsors, with figures showing 107,646 in FY2021, 127,447 in FY2022, and 113,495 in FY2023, indicating a troubling trend that has overwhelmed the Office of Refugee Resettlement's capacity to effectively vet sponsors and ensure child safety. This context underscores the systemic vulnerabilities that have allowed such exploitation to flourish, a nuance that the mainstream account fails to capture fully.[2]
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📊 Relevant Data
ORR released 107,646 unaccompanied children to sponsors in FY2021, 127,447 in FY2022, and 113,495 in FY2023.
Unaccompanied Alien Children - 2025 Update — forumtogether.org
📌 Key Facts
- On Thursday, June 11, 2026, the DOJ announced indictments in Cleveland, Ohio charging Maritza Azucena Cahuec Coc, 38, and her brother Carlos Agustin Cahuec Coc, 33, both Guatemalan nationals unlawfully present, with participating in an international alien smuggling conspiracy from about December 2020 to October 2023 that used fraudulent ORR sponsorship applications to obtain custody of unaccompanied alien children.
- The DOJ release charges 20‑year‑old Guatemalan national Gladys Marina Caal Chen, who had been fraudulently sponsored as an unaccompanied alien child, with making false statements to the government in connection with a UAC sponsorship application.
- DOJ detailed that 27‑year‑old Guatemalan national Juan Tiul Xi pleaded guilty to smuggling a child into the United States in 2023, submitting a fraudulent ORR sponsorship application falsely claiming to be the child’s brother, and then sexually abusing the child after gaining custody.
- 26 months in prison was the federal sentence imposed on Juan Tiul Xi to run consecutive to an eight‑year state prison sentence after his conviction for sexual battery of a child in state court.
- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and senior DOJ and ICE officials used the June 11, 2026 press release to blame prior administration policies for mismanaging the unaccompanied children program and pledged continued Joint Task Force Alpha focus on alien smuggling and fraud involving UACs.
📰 Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- On June 11, 2026, DOJ announced indictments in Cleveland, Ohio charging Maritza Azucena Cahuec Coc, 38, and her brother Carlos Agustin Cahuec Coc, 33, both Guatemalan nationals unlawfully present, with participating in an international alien smuggling conspiracy from about December 2020 to October 2023 that used fraudulent ORR sponsorship applications to obtain custody of unaccompanied alien children.
- The same release charges 20‑year‑old Guatemalan national Gladys Marina Caal Chen, herself fraudulently sponsored as a UAC, with making false statements to the government in connection with a UAC sponsorship application.
- DOJ detailed that 27‑year‑old Guatemalan national Juan Tiul Xi pleaded guilty to smuggling a child into the United States in 2023, submitting a fraudulent ORR sponsorship application falsely claiming to be the child’s brother, and then sexually abusing the child after gaining custody.
- Xi was convicted of sexual battery of a child in state court and sentenced to eight years in state prison, and was additionally sentenced in federal court to 26 months in prison to run consecutive to the state sentence.
- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and senior DOJ and ICE officials used the June 11, 2026 press release to blame prior administration policies for mismanaging the unaccompanied children program and to pledge continued Joint Task Force Alpha focus on alien smuggling and fraud involving UACs.