On Dec. 9, 2013, Abel Doncel de la Torre-Gonzalez, 34, of Mexico was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in a hostage taking. De la Torre was the last of three hostage takers sentenced to prison in this matter.
Espiridion Pablo-Madrigal, 36, of San Juan Carapan, Michoacán and Luis Bretado-Aragon, 19, of Concordia, Sinaloa, Mexico, were sentenced in November to ten and one-half years and six years imprisonment, respectively. All three had been indicted June 12, 2013, on charges of hostage taking, conspiracy to commit hostage taking, and use, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
The charges in the case stemmed from a human smuggling event in which the defendants raised the smuggling fees, threatened to kill the victims if the higher fees were not paid, and engaged in violent behavior toward the victims, who were in the process of being smuggled into the United States from Mexico.