Human trafficking kingpin admits to smuggling 20,000 people into U.S.

AENN

by: Marc Sternfield

Posted: Mar 6, 2026 / 01:00 PM PST

Updated: Mar 6, 2026 / 01:00 PM PST

An undocumented immigrant who lived in Los Angeles pleaded guilty Friday to leading what authorities say was one of the largest human smuggling operations in the United States.

Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul, 52, pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy, transporting and harboring undocumented immigrants, and hostage taking, the Department of Justice announced. He has been in federal custody since February 2025.

Prosecutors say Renoj-Matul, who went by the nicknames “Turko,” “El Jefe,” “Patron” and “El Gallo,” collected payments of $15,000 to $18,000 to smuggle immigrants from Guatemala into the United States through Mexico using a network of drivers and safe houses.

One stash house was located on James M. Wood Boulevard in the Westlake district of Los Angeles, according to the DOJ.

“After an illegal alien’s smuggling fee was paid, the illegal alien was transported by co-conspirators to another destination within the United States,” the DOJ said. “If an illegal alien’s smuggling fees were not paid, Renoj-Matul and other co-conspirators would hold that illegal alien against their will at the Westlake house until their fee was paid.”

In his plea agreement, Renoj-Matul admitted to smuggling about 20,000 people into the U.S. from 2019 through July 2024, sending them to destinations including Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, New York, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Prosecutors also described a pattern of threats and fear that permeated the operation.

In one case, after a third party reneged on paying the smuggling fee, Renoj-Matul and his associates called the immigrant’s mother and warned her that her daughter “would come home in a box” if the money wasn’t sent, according to the DOJ. The victim was held hostage at the Westlake house for two months.

Renoj-Matul faces a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison when he is sentenced in October.

Several of his alleged co conspirators are still awaiting trial, including José Paxtor Oxlaj, 45, a suspected driver who was behind the wheel during a crash in Oklahoma that killed seven people, including a four year old.