A man has been arraigned on human smuggling charges in connection with the tragic death of a 33-year-old pregnant woman from Mexico who was found dead in a river in northern New York after illegally crossing the border from Canada. The body of the woman, Ana Vasquez-Flores, was discovered in the Great Chazy River just south of the Canadian border on December 14, 2023, following a search prompted by her husband's report to U.S. border agents that she had crossed illegally and was missing.
Authorities revealed that footprints in the snow led searchers to the river where Vasquez-Flores had drowned. Her death occurred during a period of increased migration into New York and New England from Canada, underscoring the risks faced by migrants navigating the challenging terrain along the U.S.-Canada border.
The accused, a 36-year-old man named Jhader Augusto Uribe-Tobar, has been charged with smuggling Vasquez-Flores into the United States for a fee of $2,500 and allegedly instructing her to wade through the river in darkness. Uribe-Tobar pleaded not guilty to federal charges of alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and is currently in custody pending trial. Prosecutors disclosed that he is a citizen of Colombia residing in Quebec, Canada.
U.S. Attorney Carla Freedman emphasized the dangers of illegal migration, stating that this tragedy underscores how smugglers, for financial gain, knowingly endanger individuals. The federal public defender representing Uribe-Tobar declined to provide any comments on the case.
