Two men, one from Mexico and the other from Honduras, face up to 10 years in prison for smuggling 14 illegal immigrants across the Canadian border into Vermont.

Alberto Alvarado-Castro and Hector Perez-Alvarado both pleaded guilty Monday in a federal court in Burlington, Vermont.

“This case serves as an excellent example of the dedication and hard work put forth by Border Patrol agents to keep our country and communities safe,” U.S. Border Patrol official Robert Garcia said. “Our agents did an outstanding job thwarting this smuggling attempt and the U.S. Attorney’s Office did an excellent job prosecuting it.”

The two defendants admitted guiding the illegal immigrants through the woods, from Quebec, Canada, to a van in Derby, Vermont, to avoid the U.S. border crossing.

They made multiple trips driving the illegal immigrants, who were from Guatemala and Mexico, to a motel in Derby and were arrested on the last trip. 

Both defendants will be sentenced in September.

In an earlier version of this story Border Patrol official Robert Garcia was misquoted. VOA regrets the error.
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