Wife of alleged immigrant smuggler accused of trying to pay off witnesses

McALLEN — Federal authorities say the wife of an alleged immigrant smuggler aided her husband in kidnapping Central American migrants, torturing them and holding them for ransom.

Investigators believe Norma Yesenia Ozul Saldaña, 29, received several ransom payments through wire transfers issued to two Edinburg homes and tried to buy the silence of several of her alleged victims after her arrest, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a criminal complaint filed in connection with her arrest.

ICE agents arrested Ozul's husband - 26-year-old Andres Perez Moshan - on Nov. 25 after they discovered him and four others guarding 21 migrants at a cramped mobile home near the intersection of Tower and Texas roads, east of Edinburg.

The men and women reported they had crossed the Rio Grande days earlier and been guided to a stash house in Hidalgo only to be kidnapped within an hour by a group of armed men who stormed the home.

During a harrowing day, their captors threatened the lives of 21 Central Americans if they could not secure ransoms from family members in the United States and abroad. Some were tied up and beaten. At least three women told authorities they had been raped, according to court documents.

As authorities worked to record their stories that night, Ozul arrived at the Weslaco Border Patrol Station to inquire about her 2000 Ford Expedition, which had been seized from the property.

Agents determined she also was in the country illegally and placed her under arrest. While in detention, she offered to pay off several of the victims if they refused to talk with investigators, ICE agent Guadalupe Sanchez Jr. wrote in her criminal complaint.

"She said she knew where the money (referring to the ransom payments) was and promised she would return it to them if they remained silent," the document states.

Statements from one of Perez's co-defendants also linked Ozul to the criminal enterprise. The man told investigators that Perez kept his wife regularly updated on when and where to expect wire transfers and ransom payments.

It was not immediately clear Wednesday whether Ozul had retained an attorney. If convicted, she could face up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

Perez and three alleged accomplices currently face eleven federal counts of conspiracy, harboring illegal immigrants and hostage taking. A fifth person - a 16-year-old juvenile - was being held as a witness in the case and has not been charged with a crime.

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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.