Quebec man extradited to U.S. after pregnant migrant dies in border crossing attempt

By Canadian Press on February 6, 2025.

MONTREAL — U.S. officials say a Colombian man who was living in Quebec has been extradited and arraigned in connection with the case of a pregnant Mexican woman who died while trying to cross illegally into the United States in December 2023.

The U.S. attorney’s office for the northern district of New York has charged Jhader Augusto Uribe-Tobar, 36, with three smuggling-related counts in relation to the death of Ana Karen Vasquez-Flores.

The body of 33-year-old Vasquez-Flores was found in the Great Chazy River near Champlain, N.Y., on Dec. 14, 2023, two days after her husband alerted a border patrol agent that she had not emerged from the woods.

U.S. authorities allege that Uribe-Tobar advertised his services on TikTok under a pseudonym and charged the woman and her husband US$2,500 to guide her by electronic message as she walked alone across the border.

Documents filed by U.S. officials in Quebec Superior Court allege that her husband, Miguel Mojarro-Magna, had contacted the TikTok account and was told the journey to the United States, which included crossing the river, could take up to three hours.

Uribe-Tobar has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling, and was detained pending a trial.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2025.

— With files from The Associated Press

The Canadian Press