Border and Maritime Smuggling

Two men who served as captains of an overcrowded smuggling skiff that capsized off the coast of San Diego pleaded guilty this week to charges tied to the deaths of four migrants who drowned when the wooden vessel went down in stormy seas. The pleas come after prosecutors connected the pair to an operation that loaded people onto an unsafe boat destined for the U.S. coastline; survivors and responders described chaotic conditions as the craft encountered heavy waves and flipped, producing the fatal outcome near San Diego waters.