Federal judge sentences two Mexican men to about six years over San Diego boat deaths

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Cheeks sentenced Jesus Ivan Rodriguez Leyva, 38, and Julio Cesar Zuniga Luna, 32, to about six years in prison on Monday for their role in a human smuggling operation that resulted in four deaths off San Diego, Courthouse News Service reported. According to the report, smugglers hired the two men to transport 19 people, including themselves, from Popotla, Mexico, to San Diego on May 5, 2025. The boat capsized within about 200 yards of shore after its motor failed. Two men from Mexico and two children from India died. Attorneys for both men described them as best friends who grew up in an impoverished fishing village and were experienced on the ocean as fishermen and divers. They said the men returned to port when the motor first malfunctioned but were forced back onto the water, and that both repeatedly tried to help rescue passengers who could not swim to shore. Danielle Iredale, who represents Leyva, said: "That does and should merit consideration." Gerardo Gonzalez, who represents Luna, said: "His whole existence is defined by intergenerational poverty." Cheeks was receptive to the defendants' circumstances but found they did not take away from the consequences of their actions. He told Luna: "This case is a tragedy from top to bottom, starting with your upbringing." The report says he also criticized both men for helping pilot a small, overcrowded boa, where the text is cut off.