ST. THOMAS — A Colombian national faces deportation after being sentenced to six months in prison for facilitating the illegal entry of a Venezuelan family into the United States.
William Giraldo Cabanzo, 59, pleaded guilty to a charge of Conspiracy to Bring Aliens to the United States and was sentenced by Chief District Judge Robert A. Molloy.
According to court documents, Cabanzo organized the illegal entry of a family of four Venezuelans into the U.S. using fraudulent travel documents.
The operation involved arranging for the family to travel from Venezuela to the British Virgin Islands. From there, Cabanzo facilitated their transport to St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, via private vessel. The family then took a commercial ferry to St. Thomas, where their illegal entry into the United States was discovered by law enforcement.
Cabanzo, who had been deported from the United States in 2021, will be sent back to his native Colombia after completing his prison sentence, in accordance with federal immigration laws.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cherrisse R. Woods, reflecting the collaborative efforts of multiple federal agencies to address border-related offenses.
