LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal authorities in Los Angeles arrested two alleged leaders of a criminal organization suspected of smuggling 20,000 people from Guatemala to the U.S. and charging each person as much as $18,000 to get them into the country.

La red criminal fue responsable de la muerte de siete inmigrantes sin estatus legal —incluido un niño de 4 años

Four men are facing federal charges, accused of smuggling thousands of people into the US from Guatemala in what officials call “one of the largest human smuggling rings in the nation.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally called the criminal network "one of the largest human smuggling rings in the nation," on Monday.

Authorities described the Torko Organization as one of the largest human smuggling operations in the United States.

Federal officials in Los Angeles announced charges on Monday against four men accused of leading "one of the largest human smuggling organizations in the United States," the U.S. attorney ​says.

Federal authorities in Los Angeles say they've arrested the leaders of one of the country's largest human smuggling organizations, accused of bringing thousands of undocumented immigrants here from Guatemala.

The twisted group lured migrants from Guatemala for $15,000 to $18,000 and handed them off to smugglers in Mexico who would bring them into the US.

Two suspected leaders of a human smuggling ring accused of illegally bringing 20,000 people from Guatemala into the U.S. have been arrested in Los Angeles, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

As a teen, Jefri Lindo trekked across L.A. on buses looking for work. He was brewing a future as the co-owner of Ülëw Coffee and Juice.

The group is accused of holding individuals hostage, threatening violence, and being responsible for a fatal car crash in Oklahoma in 2023, which resulted in seven deaths, including three minors.

Federal law enforcement in Los Angeles Monday announced charges against four people suspected of smuggling about 20,000 undocumented immigrants from Guatemala to the United States, including seven who died in a car crash in 2023.