A 33-year-old Cuban man was arrested on suspicion of human smuggling near Three Points, west of Tucson, on April 20.
According to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol agents stopped a Hyundai Accent leaving an area commonly used by human smugglers.
The driver, a Cuban national, did not have legal documentation for being in the United States. Agents also found a 29-year-old Mexican woman and a 30-year-old Uzbekistani woman, who were in the country illegally, the news release said.
All three were arrested and the car was seized.
A records check revealed the driver had been arrested by U.S. Border Patrol in 2023, near Brownsville, Texas. He claimed that he feared persecution in his home country. He was released pending an immigration hearing, the news release said.
The Mexican woman had been removed from the United States more than once and was prosecuted for immigration violations in October of 2024. Both women will be processed for removal proceedings while, if convicted, the driver faces federal prison time and subsequent removal from the country. He will also be banned for life from the U.S.
