Travel Agent Convicted in $20 Million Human Smuggling Scheme Targeting Cubans
A Florida-based travel agent has been found guilty for his role in a large-scale human smuggling operation that facilitated the illegal entry of hundreds of Cubans into the United States.
A federal jury convicted Lazaro Alain Cabrera-Rodriguez, 28, of Florida, on Thursday for his involvement in a $20 million human smuggling and money laundering scheme that operated from January 2021 to June 2025. The Department of Justice announced the conviction, stating that Cabrera-Rodriguez faces up to 20 years in prison.
The scheme utilized Cabrera-Rodriguez's travel agency, ASESORIA Y SERVICIOS MIGRATORIOS LLC, as a front to provide fraudulent immigration services. The agency charged individuals between $1,500 and $40,000 for bogus visa services, misleading Cubans into believing they could enter the U.S. legally by posing as European citizens. The operation involved fabricating documents, chartering private planes to fly individuals from Cuba to third countries, coordinating with other smugglers, and laundering over $20 million through 57 bank accounts, including the Zelle payment app.
Prosecutors stated that Cabrera-Rodriguez's agency filed at least 600 fraudulent Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) applications with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division described the enterprise as one that "provided a veneer of legitimacy to evade detection" and treated people "like cargo."
Acting Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa characterized the operation as one that "exploited vulnerable people for profit while undermining the integrity of our borders and immigration system."
Cabrera-Rodriguez was found guilty of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain, conspiracy to commit international money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering concealment. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 17.
Twelve other defendants in the case have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. In July, Erik Ventura-Castro, 24, was sentenced to 30 months in prison as part of this investigation, which is linked to the Department of Justice's Operation Take Back America, an initiative targeting illegal immigration and transnational crime.