MIAMI — A Cuban man agreed to transport over 20 migrants for $5,000 — a decision that landed him and two others in federal custody after they were caught in Coral Gables with migrants packed into a U-Haul van, according to a federal complaint.

At around 9:30 a.m. Friday, federal investigators say a concerned bystander witnessed a woman being shoved into the backseat of a Toyota Corolla with a Texas License plate number that was also parked close to a U-Haul van near the Snapper Creek Lakes neighborhood. The witness took a video of this and showed it to Coral Gables Police officers.

Both vehicles subsequently drove by the reporting citizen and officer, prompting “be on the lookout” alert. Coral Gables police believed this could have been a possible abduction.

Over 20 people found in a U-haul van

Federal investigators say officers stopped the U-Haul van and Toyota Corolla shortly thereafter. Inside the van, they found 23 people, including the driver, Jose Luis Villares, a Cuban citizen. The passengers, who were migrants from China and Ecuador, were crammed into the cargo area with no seats or ventilation, concealed by cardboard taped over the windows.

The Toyota Corolla had five people, including the driver, Lucas Sedeno Rodriguez, and a passenger, Keiner Cicilia Rodriguez, both Cuban citizens. Among the other passengers were migrants from Ecuador and Brazil, including the woman seen in earlier being shoved into the car, according to the federal complaint.

Investigators later learned the migrants had arrived in South Florida by boat from the Bahamas. None had proper documentation to enter the United States, and their lack of luggage or personal items further indicated they were being transported illegally rather than traveling as tourists, according to the federal complaint.

Authorities believe the group had been dropped off early Friday morning somewhere along the Coral Gables’ waterways, according to Coral Gables Police Department spokeswoman Natalie Flores.

The migrants were taken to Dania Beach Border Patrol Station.

$5,000 reward

In post-arrest interviews, federal investigators say Sedeno Rodriguez confessed to being recruited by a smuggler known as “Miggy” to transport the migrants for $5,000. Villares admitted he was hired by Sedeno and promised $500 for driving the U-Haul. Cicilia Rodriguez, who rented the U-Haul van, admitted his involvement, including traveling with the other suspects to pick up the migrants that morning.

Several migrants identified the trio as the individuals who coordinated their transportation after they arrived in the U.S. Sedeno Rodriguez was described as the organizer who directed the group, while Villares and Cecilia Rodriguez assisted with the logistics.

The trio planned to drop off the migrants “near a hardware store in Miami-Dade County,” according to their federal complaint.

All three men were charged with transporting, moving or attempting to transport or move an alien within the United States in Miami federal court.

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