A federal jury has convicted two Honduran men for their involvement in a scheme to unlawfully smuggle Honduran nationals into the United States.
In court documents and trial evidence, it was revealed that Hennessy Devon Cooper Zelaya, 30, and Rudy Jackson Hernandez, 37, collaborated with a group of at least six individuals to smuggle Honduran nationals from Honduras to the United States.
Their plan involved illegally transporting 23 Honduran migrants from Utila, Honduras, to Cocodrie, Louisiana, aboard the M/V Pop, a 65-foot Sportfishing vessel, in February 2022. These migrants had paid substantial amounts of money to the co-conspirators to facilitate their entry into the United States. However, their journey was interrupted when the M/V Pop experienced engine trouble and lost power in the Gulf of Mexico.
In an attempt to rescue the stranded vessel, the co-conspirators arranged for a chartered boat to deliver fuel. Unfortunately for them, before the chartered boat could reach the disabled vessel, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted it approximately 75 miles off the coast of Louisiana and towed it to shore.
Cooper Zelaya and Jackson Hernandez have been found guilty of conspiring to unlawfully bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain, as well as attempting to bring aliens to the United States for similar purposes. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The sentencing date has not yet been scheduled, as it will be determined by a federal district court judge who will take into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other relevant statutory factors.
Carl Allison, who is the lead defendant in the case, has already admitted his guilt in December 2023. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges related to illegally bringing aliens into the United States for financial gain and distributing five kilograms or more of cocaine hydrochloride. In addition to Allison, three other co-conspirators, all of them Honduran nationals, also pleaded guilty last year for their involvement in the scheme. Darrel Martinez, aged 41, and Josue Flores-Villeda, aged 36, admitted to the same charges as Allison.
Lenord Cooper, aged 40, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges of aiding and assisting aliens in unlawfully entering the United States, as well as attempting to bring aliens to the U.S. for the purpose of commercial advantage and private financial gain.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, along with U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana and Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans Field Office, have announced this development.
The HSI Houma, Louisiana Field Office took the lead in investigating the case, with support from the HSI Pittsburgh Field Office, HSI Atlanta Field Office, and Louisiana Bureau of Investigation. Additional assistance was provided by the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, Louisiana State Police, Pennsylvania State Police, North Huntington Township Police, and Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office. Substantial assistance was also provided by the Justice Department’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training in Honduras.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Rami Badawy and Trial Attorney Kate Wagner from the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP), along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter Guice from the General Crimes Unit for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) led to this case. In June 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland established JTFA to combat the rise in prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The initiative expanded to Colombia and Panama in June 2024 to address human smuggling in the Darién.
JTFA is comprised of detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border, including the Southern District of California, Districts of Arizona and New Mexico, and the Western and Southern Districts of Texas.
The Justice Department’s Criminal Division provides dedicated support, led by HRSP and supported by the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training; Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section; Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section; Office of Enforcement Operations; Office of International Affairs; and Violent Crime and Racketeering Section. DHS, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners also contribute substantial law enforcement investment to JTFA.
JTFA’s efforts have yielded impressive results, with over 325 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of human smuggling. Additionally, there have been more than 272 U.S. convictions, over 210 significant jail sentences imposed, and substantial seizures and forfeiture of assets and contraband.
These include more than a million dollars in cash, real property, vehicles, firearms and ammunition, and drugs. JTFA has also secured multiple indictments and achieved precedent-setting extraditions of foreign leadership targets.
The Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program also support this case. OCDETF takes a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations that pose a threat to the United States.
This approach leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to target criminal networks. The ECT program, a partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI, focuses on human smuggling networks that may pose national security or public safety risks, or raise serious humanitarian concerns.
ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence, and prosecutorial resources, and it coordinates with other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities to receive assistance.