Charges Filed Against Leader of Human Smuggling Network
Prosecutors have filed charges against Francisco Antonio Luna Rosado, a 27-year-old from the Dominican Republic, who allegedly led an international human smuggling operation. This network reportedly conspired to transport dozens of migrants illegally across the northern border into New York City and other areas in the U.S., according to court documents that have not been disclosed.
Luna Rosado led a trafficking ring that consisted of about 70 individuals, attempting to smuggle at least 48 undocumented immigrants from Latin America and Canada into northern Vermont, including young children, as stated in the filing.
A recent document submitted in Vermont District Court revealed that Jesús Hernandez Ortiz, 37, from Puerto Rico, and others involved in the encrypted chat group claimed they would drive the migrants from their entry point in Canada to “New York City and beyond.”
The migrants reportedly arrived in southern Canada by air and then reached out to Luna Rosado using location data from a messaging application.
On September 17, police stopped Ortiz at around 4 a.m. while he was transporting more than a dozen undocumented immigrants in a Home Depot van just south of the northern border.
The group included two children aged 3 and 5.
According to court records, Ortiz claimed, “I picked these people up in a field in Canada and I didn’t know who they were,” when questioned by officers.
It is alleged that Luna Rosado laundered over $10,000 as part of this operation, which lasted from August 2022 to March 2024, leading to two additional charges against him.
In the broader context, the northern border saw a 95% drop in illegal crossings from 2024 to 2025. While over 1,100 individuals were apprehended in March 2024, only 54 were arrested a year later.
Data from Customs and Border Protection indicates a significant decline in northern border crossings, dropping from 12,085 in November 2024 to 4,098 in February 2025.
In November 2023, law enforcement arrested at least 20 Romanians who had crossed into Maine from Canada as part of a criminal operation.
Since that time, providing welfare and other services to immigrants in New York City has reportedly cost taxpayers over $5 billion, according to local data.
Ortiz is set to make his initial appearance in federal court in Burlington, Vermont, on February 17. Prosecutors have requested that both he and Luna Rosado be held without bail until their trial, noting Ortiz’s current detention in the District of Vermont and that Luna Rosado is being transported from Ocala, Florida, to the same district.
They highlighted concerns regarding Luna Rosado, stating he poses a “significant risk of flight and non-attendance” at the trial. The public defender representing Luna Rosado has not yet commented on the matter.
