A couple from Juarez is now locked up on the Texas side of the border. The feds say they helped smuggle kids into the U.S. Some of those kids were fed candy laced with marijuana to make them sleepy.

This is an update to a story El Tejano first reported on July 7. Read it here: https://www.eltejanorgv.com/smuggler-who-drugged-migrant-kids-with-thc-candy-gets-5-years/

Susana Guadian, 51, and Daniel Guadian, 51, were sent from Mexico to the U.S. to face charges. Mexico handed them over. Then they went before a federal judge in Texas. The feds shared the news on Sept. 29.

A grand jury charged the two on Sept. 24, 2025. A grand jury is a group of citizens. They decide if there is enough proof to charge someone. A year passed before they were brought to Texas.

They face two charges. One is conspiracy to transport migrants. That means making a plan with others to move people who are here illegally. The other is bringing migrants into the U.S. illegally for money. Both are serious federal crimes.

Court documents show how the feds say the scheme worked.

It ran from about May 1 to Oct. 17, 2024. The kids were between 5 and 13 years old. None had a parent with them. They came from Juarez.

The feds say the Guadians found drivers to take the kids by car to a border crossing. At the crossing, the drivers showed U.S. documents to officers. They falsely said the documents belonged to the kids. They also claimed to be the kids' parents.

Then came the candy.

On at least one trip, the kids were given gummy candy with marijuana in it. The candy was meant to sedate them. That means to make them sleepy. Prosecutors say the goal was to keep the kids from answering questions from officers at the border.

One child got sick and went to a hospital. Doctors said the child had been poisoned by marijuana.

Once across, the kids were taken to El Paso. Other people picked them up there. Those people paid the drivers. The drivers got $900 for each child, court documents say.

Top federal officials did not hold back. Here is what they said.

"The allegations include that they risked the safety of children by giving them THC-laced gummies to sedate them," said A. Tysen Duva. He is a top official at the Justice Department.

U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons said having the couple in custody is "a major development." He said the case shows how smugglers put kids at risk.

He said the two will face the same tough push in court as the others in the case. "Like their co-defendants before them, these two will be aggressively prosecuted," Simmons said.

Ryan G. McRae is the acting boss of Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso. He said smuggling children "is not a victimless crime."

He called the candy trick "an especially disturbing abuse of their trust and safety."

Two others in the same case are further along. Manuel Valenzuela got five years in federal prison on July 1. Dianne Guadian pleaded guilty on July 28. The feds did not say if she is related to the couple.

Homeland Security agents in El Paso led the case. So did the Border Patrol. A federal team called Joint Task Force Alpha also helped. It goes after big smuggling gangs.

This case played out in the El Paso area, not in the Valley. But it shows a trick the feds say smugglers used at the border. The adult in the car claimed to be a parent.

The Justice Department said an indictment is only a charge. It is not proof of guilt. Their cases now move forward in federal court in Texas.

Everyone is presumed innocent until proved otherwise.