Texas Man Sentenced 120 Years For Kidnapping, Smuggling Migrants

Joshua Lee Balderas, a 33-year-old man from La Pryor, has been sentenced to 120 years in federal prison for his role in kidnapping and human smuggling seven migrants in Texas. Balderas and conspirators transported the migrants from La Pryor to San Antonio, where they were held captive in hotel rooms and ransomed to their families, with one family paying $7,000 for a release. During captivity, Balderas brandished firearms to control the victims and sexually assaulted one woman at gunpoint. He was convicted on one count of conspiracy to kidnap and two counts related to harboring undocumented migrants causing serious bodily injury, with sentences set to run consecutively. U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons emphasized that the sentence sends a strong message that such crimes will be prosecuted aggressively. Another co-conspirator, Kaylen Alexander Brondo, pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.