PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – A Colombian man who lives in Quebec was extradited from Canada and charged in federal court Thursday in connection with the death of a pregnant immigrant he’s accused of smuggling into the United States.
Ana Karen Vasquez-Flores, who was from Mexico, died in December 2023 while trying to illegally enter the U.S. by crossing the Chazy River in Champlain, New York.
Authorities say a relative of Vasquez-Flores contacted Jhader Augusto Uribe-Tobar, 36, a citizen of Colombia who lives in Quebec, on TikTok where he advertised himself as a smuggler bringing people from Montreal to Plattsburgh. The relative paid Uribe-Tobar $2,500 for Vasquez-Flores to cross.
Officials say on Dec. 11, 2023, Uribe-Tobar brought Vasquez-Flores to the border and told her to wade across the river in the dark, where she drowned.
The relative grew concerned when he didn’t hear from Vasquez-Flores and eventually alerted a Border Patrol agent in Champlain. Law enforcement agencies immediately started searching for the missing woman and found her body in the river on Dec. 14, 2023.
“This tragedy highlights the dangers of illegal migration and how, as alleged, smugglers deliberately put people in harm’s way for profit. By vigorously prosecuting human smuggling networks, we are deterring and reducing the number of dangerous crossings like the one that took the lives of this young woman and her unborn child,” U.S. Attorney for Northern New York Carla Freedman said in a statement.
At his arraignment in federal court Thursday, Uribe-Tobar was ordered held. If convicted, he faces three years to life in prison.