A man who admitted to smuggling migrants through southern Arizona has been sentenced to six years in federal prison after prosecutors said he assaulted two brothers from China and abandoned one of them in the desert during the journey.
Miguel Martinez-Meraz, 56, of Jalisco, Mexico, pleaded guilty in federal court in Tucson to transporting a person in the United States illegally for financial gain and illegally re-entering the country after deportation. According to prosecutors, the incident occurred in January 2025 in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge near Ajo.
Federal authorities said the two brothers had each paid $3,000 to be guided into the United States. During the trek, Martinez-Meraz allegedly beat one brother after he began falling behind and abandoned him in the desert. Prosecutors also said the smuggler threatened the second brother with a knife, repeatedly assaulted him over several days, confiscated his remaining water, and forced him to continue walking.
The abandoned brother eventually located an emergency rescue beacon after climbing a mountain and called 911, leading Border Patrol agents to his location. Martinez-Meraz and the second brother were later found separately after also requesting rescue.
Prosecutors said Martinez-Meraz had been deported in 2024 and unlawfully returned to the United States while serving a term of supervised release from a previous federal conviction. The case underscores the severe dangers migrants face during illegal crossings through Arizona’s remote desert terrain, where extreme heat, limited water, and isolation frequently turn smuggling operations into life-threatening situations.
