FBI arrests 'El Alaska' after kidnapped migrant found at El Paso area stash house

A migrant allegedly abducted and held for ransom was recently rescued by FBI and U.S. Border Patrol agents from a suspected stash house in Sparks in eastern El Paso County.

FBI agents arrested "El Alaska," an El Paso man allegedly guarding the migrants, who had been suspected by Mexican authorities in a dozen drug cartel-related killings three years ago in Juárez.

Luis Edward Castro, 27, shackled at the waist and wearing glasses and a blue El Paso County Jail jumpsuit, appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge on Tuesday, Sept. 11, at a detention hearing in Downtown El Paso.

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Castro, who is a U.S. citizen born in the state of Alaska, faces a federal human-smuggling harboring charge. His name was initially listed on charging documents as "Luis Ernesto Castro," but his attorney said his middle name is actually Edward.

Castro was arrested on Sept. 5 after FBI and Border Patrol agents found him with six undocumented migrants at a house in the 12800 block of Chaucer Road in Sparks, an unincorporated community near Horizon Boulevard.

Castro could potentially face additional federal charges, including taking part in a hostage-taking conspiracy.

'He goes by 'El Alaska''

When questioned by FBI agents, Castro allegedly admitted to being involved in migrant smuggling. He was paid $200 for food to feed the migrants and was to be paid $100 per person per day, the federal criminal complaint stated.

“He said he was a sicario for La Empresa” in Juárez and allegedly admitted to multiple murders in Mexico. “He goes by ‘El Alaska,’” an FBI agent testified at the detention hearing. A sicario is a hitman.

The FBI agent said that Castro allegedly works for associates in Mexico. “We believe he was part of La Empresa organization and was doing this as part of that organization," the agent said.

La Empresa (The Company), has been previously described by the FBI as a "hybrid gang/cartel" that emerged around 2018 when formed by factions of the Juárez drug cartel.

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In 2020, Castro was arrested in Juárez by Chihuahua state police who suspected him in a dozen murders and described him as a crime boss and one of state's deadliest criminals.

Chihuahua authorities had said that "El Alaska" was suspected in the murder of a former policewoman found in a clandestine grave in 2019 and killings were the bodies of men were dumped in public dressed in women's clothing as a form of humiliation.

At this week's hearing, Castro's attorney, Joseph Veith, pointed out that Castro was put on trial for one murder in Mexico and was acquitted. Under questioning, the FBI agent said that he wasn’t aware of Castro facing any pending charges in Mexico.

“If the allegations are true (regarding migrant trafficking), he played a minor role and didn’t do anything violent," Veith said.

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Castro works in car sales and the rental of brinca brincas jumping balloons, his attorney said.

Castro had worked in Iowa, returned to El Paso last year and has family on both side of the border, said Veith, arguing that his client was not a flight risk and should get bond. “I don’t think he wants to be a fugitive in Mexico for the rest of his life," Veith commented.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert F. Castañeda wasn't persuaded, saying Castro posed a danger to the community and ordered that he remain jailed without bond pending trial.

"It seems to me we are dealing with an organization that threatens people’s lives," Castañeda said.

Held for ransom on the border

An investigation began on Sept. 3 when the FBI was contacted after a man told the San Diego County Sheriff's Department that his brother was being held for ransom by smugglers who had been hired to get him over the border, a criminal complaint stated.

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The migrant was supposed to have crossed the El Paso border on Aug. 28, but was abducted days earlier from a hotel room in Juárez, where his identification and belongings were left behind, stated the complaint document written by an agent with a U.S. Border Patrol intelligence unit.

On Aug. 25, the migrant's brother received a telephone call from a person "who claimed to represent an organization that controlled illegal activity at the border," the complaint stated.

The caller demanded a payment of $6,000 to release the migrant in Mexico or $13,000 to release him in the United States. A video was sent with the victim saying his name and that he was OK.

In the following days, the migrant's family wired payments totaling about $12,000. But on Sept. 3, the kidnappers demanded even more money, the complaint stated.

'In jail or with a bullet to the head'

If the family didn't pay, the unknown caller threatened, the migrant would have to work for a cartel by smuggling drugs and migrants or help guard kidnapping victims. The caller said that such activity would likely end with the migrant "in jail or with a bullet to the head," the document stated.

Another video was sent. But this time, the kidnapped migrant appeared scared and said that he was in El Paso, the complaint stated. The unknown callers had used a variety of Mexican and U.S. telephone numbers.

Using unspecified investigative techniques, federal agents allegedly linked one of the cellphone numbers to Castro and the house on Chaucer Drive, where FBI agents backed by the U.S. Border Patrol went to do a "knock and talk."

Santa Muerte, stash house

When federal agents knocked, Castro and two other people, who were in the U.S. without proper documentation, came to the door. After Castro gave agents permission to enter, six undocumented migrants, including the man held for ransom, were found in the house, according to the complaint and an FBI agent's testimony at the detention hearing. There were a total of nine people at the house, including Castro and the six smuggled migrants.

Agents found three rifles, a shotgun and two handguns in the house, including an AR-15 rifle with an "obliterated" serial number, the FBI agent said. Castro told agents that a pistol was his and that he was storing the other firearms for other gang members.

The migrants told agents that Castro fed them, cleaned their rooms and would walk around the house carrying a gun, but didn't threaten them, the complaint stated. The migrants said Castro would lock the door from the outside making them feel like they weren't free to leave.

“The (alleged kidnapping) victim said, ‘I was afraid of what they would do to me if I left,” the FBI agent testified.

There was several vehicles at the residence, none registered to Castro, who has a driver’s license and a license to carry a handgun from Iowa, the FBI agent said.

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According to the complaint, about four or five days before federal agents showed up, Castro, under the direction of someone else, drove a white Ford Expedition to a midnight meeting with another vehicle in the parking lot of Cielo Vista Mall, where he picked up three of the undocumented migrants.

Two other migrants were later picked up at the mall and the sixth migrant was picked up a gas station along Interstate 10 and Horizon Boulevard. All the migrants were all taken to the stash house.

Border smugglers typically hide undocumented migrants in stash houses before they are transported to other cities.

Photos shared by the Border Patrol showed a small Santa Muerte altar with offerings of cash, candy and alcohol in the stash house. The Santa Muerte is a Mexican folk saint popular in the criminal underworld who believers view as a guardian that provides protection and helps the ailing, the poor and downtrodden. Not all believers are criminals.

The U.S. Border Patrol number to report smuggling activity and stash houses is 1-800-635-2509. Information on human trafficking can also be made to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Feds arrest 'El Alaska' in El Paso migrant ransom stash house bust