One of the three Cuban men facing charges in a human smuggling ring that was busted last month after over two dozen undocumented migrants who arrived by boat were discovered in Coral Gables appeared before a federal judge Tuesday.
Lucas Sedeno Rodriguez, 52, entered a not guilty plea during the hearing. The two other suspects, 55-year-old Jose Luis Villares and 39-year-old Keiner Cicilia Rodriguez, didn't appear in court.
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The three men are all facing charges of transporting, moving or attempting to transport or move an alien within the United States, according to a criminal complaint.
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Villares' court date was rescheduled for Feb. 11. His attorney said he also plans to enter a not guilty plea.
"He has no residency, no citizenship here in the country. Unfortunately, he didn't renew his status here in the country so therefore he has the issues he has ongoing with immigration," attorney Nayib Hassan said.
The three men were taken into custody along with 25 migrants after they were found in a U-Haul van and car in Coral Gables on Jan. 17.
Inside the van were 23 people including the driver, Villares, and 22 undocumented immigrants from China and Ecuador, the complaint said.
Another five people were in the Toyota including Sedeno Rodriguez and Cicilia Rodriguez and three undocumented immigrants from Ecuador and Brazil.
It was later discovered they had been involved in a smuggling event and had recently arrived by boat from the Bahamas, the complaint said.
Sedeno Rodriguez said a man had asked him to pick up the migrants by vehicle and transport them to another location, and he would be paid $5,000, the complaint said.
Villares said he was recruited by Sedeno Rodriguez to assist and was to be paid $500.
Villares also said Cicilia Rodriguez rented the U-Haul van and the plan was to drop the migrants off near a hardware store in Miami-Dade, the complaint said.
