The U.S. Attorney's Office and other American law enforcement agency partners have announced the arrest of and the unsealing of an indictment charging defendant Zhivargo McBride in connection with a deadly smuggling operation officials said originated in The Bahamas.
Florida press reports on Tuesday also said Devon Russell was named as McBribeﾒs co-defendant.
As alleged in the indictment, McBride was the captain of a boat carrying eight illegal aliens attempting to reach the United States from The Bahamas.
As the vessel approached the beach in Broward County, McBride ordered the aliens to jump off the boat and into deep, rough ocean water, the U.S. Attorneyﾒs Office said.
Ultimately, one alien was seriously injured when he was struck by the boatﾒs propeller. Three others drowned while attempting to reach shore. On November 5, 2005, the bodies of three women, believed to be two Haitians and one Jamaican, washed ashore on a South Florida beach.
McBride was indicted on February 16, 2006 by a Ft. Lauderdale grand jury. The fifteen-count indictment charges him with eight counts of alien smuggling for profit, three counts of bringing in aliens at a place other than a designated port of entry resulting in death, one count of bringing in aliens at a place other than a designated port of entry resulting in serious bodily injury, and three counts of second degree murder.
If convicted on the three counts of bringing in aliens at a place other than a designated port of entry resulting in death, the defendant could face the death penalty.
The defendant is also facing a maximum statutory term of life imprisonment on the second degree murder counts, a maximum statutory term of 20 years on the count of bringing in aliens at a place other than a designated port of entry resulting in serious bodily injury, and a maximum statutory term of 10 years imprisonment with a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of three years imprisonment on each of the 10 counts of alien smuggling for profit.
A Florida press report on Tuesday claimed that police have said the bodies of Jamaican Diane Mecca Thompson, a mother of two in her 20s, and Haitian Angeline Thelusma were found last November on the sand on Pompano Beach.
A third womanﾒs body was found, but she was never identified.
It is alleged that the women and several survivors boarded a 19-foot sailboat in Nassau, Bahamas on the night of November 4.
United States Attorney Alex Acosta said, "Human smugglers do not value the lives of their passengers; instead, they value money and escaping law enforcement. More and more in South Florida, we see individuals risk their lives for a chance to live the American dream.
"But this dream of freedom and prosperity becomes a human tragedy as children, women and men die at the hand of smugglers. We are committed to prosecuting these criminals and to putting a stop to human smuggling."
Jesus Torres, special agent in charge of ICE in Miami, added that the penalty for illegally coming to the United States should not be death at the hands of ruthless smugglers who have no regard for human life.
"One of ICEﾒs top priorities is identifying, arresting and prosecuting human smugglers who are responsible for exploiting people and encouraging them to use dangerous and illegal methods to come to the United States," Mr. Torres said.
"We will simply not tolerate this flagrant disregard for human life and will not rest until those responsible are brought to justice."
John S. Beutlich, director, Miami Air and Marine, U.S. customs and Border Protection Air and Marine, added, "The apprehension of Zhivargo McBride, in the middle of the night off the coast of Florida, is significant in that it proves there are smugglers, who have harmed others attempting to enter the United States on any given day.
"McBrideﾒs arrest also sends a loud and clear message to these smugglers, U.S. Customs and Border Protectionﾒs detection and interdiction capabilities work and its partnerships with other law enforcement agencies is successful at protecting Americaﾒs borders and bringing criminals to trial."
Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne, also commented saying, "This prosecution is the direct result of the combined efforts of the U.S. Attorneyﾒs Office, the Broward Sheriffﾒs Office, the Palm Beach County Sheriffﾒs Office, and our federal law enforcement partners in Operation Lost at Sea
"From the moment the first bodies washed ashore, BSO and its partner law enforcement agencies have worked tirelessly to bring their killers to justice. While federal authorities pursue their case, I want the families of these victims to know we will make sure those responsible for these tragedies also are held accountable to the people of Broward and Palm Beach Counties."
Since September of 2005, numerous human smuggling interdictions have been made in South Florida, including in Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Martin and Monroe counties.
Numerous indictments have been filed by the U.S. Attorneyﾒs Office in connection with these incidents. As a result of these smuggling ventures, numerous individuals have died, and others have been severely injured.
In response to the growing number of human smuggling incidents and resulting deaths, a multi-agency task force, called Operation Lost at Sea, was established to investigate smugglers and their criminal enterprise.
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
