A U.S. lawful permanent resident, Gloria Lopez-Corona, 24, from Mexico, was arrested on Wednesday, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She is accused of attempting to smuggle a drugged child into the country through the southern border using a fake birth certificate.
The incident occurred at the San Luis port of entry in Arizona, where Lopez-Corona attempted to cross into the U.S. with a five-year-old boy. She presented a birth certificate that was later determined to belong to a different child—a two-year-old. The five-year-old boy was found to be unaccompanied, heavily sedated, and disoriented after being given melatonin gummies. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) seized the items believed to have been used to drug the child.
During questioning, Lopez-Corona admitted that the boy was not her child and that the birth certificate was fake. She claimed to be the mother of a two-year-old in Mexico and revealed that she was coerced into smuggling the boy under threats to her family. She stated that she did not report the situation to authorities in Mexico due to distrust of local police. According to her, an unidentified individual offered her $1,500 to transport the child, though she declined the payment.
The boy’s biological mother, Reyna Cecilia Hernandez Reyes, a Mexican citizen, was later identified. She admitted to giving her child to an unknown woman to be smuggled into the U.S. Reyes was charged in connection with the attempted smuggling. The plan allegedly involved taking the boy to her husband in Los Angeles, who had been illegally in the U.S. for three years and previously deported multiple times.
Tricia Griffin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, strongly condemned the incident, stating, “This depraved individual drugged an innocent child and trafficked them into our country. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, DHS will protect children and stop the traffickers and smugblers that exploit children.”
The case has sparked renewed calls for strengthened border security.
Source: https://www.examplewebsite.com