by WorldTribune Staff, September 9, 2025 Real World News

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Sept. 4 the arrest of dozens of human smuggling suspects in Tampa and around the country in just one week’s time.

In Tampa, 12 individuals were arrested for instructing illegals to evade border security and eventually win entry to the U.S.

“The cost of human smuggling is huge. So many families are dying, so many people are dying,” said Bondi.

The smugglers often charge $40,000 apiece and keep diligent records that authorities were able to recover that outlined each case.

Bondi said authorities were able to recover $18 million and records that were kept by the smugglers.

“These people aren’t some individuals from far off areas,” said U.S. Attorney Greg Kehoe of the middle district of Florida. “They’re from neighborhoods right here in Tampa, from addresses that you know, that you could pass in public or walk on the street.”

In some cases, traffickers sent children alone on airplanes to come to the U.S. and instructed the children on how to lie to border patrol agents.

“Make sure you tell these people that you’re a tourist,” Kehoe said of the smugglers’ instructions. “Make sure you’re telling them that you are just here for a visit. And of course, conceal the fact that you come from Cuba. And then when you get into the United States, lay low for a while.”
Bondi said a task force that brings officers from every level of government and every region in the country is being expanded in order to get a hold of the problem, especially because so many children are being smuggled.

“People are expecting this in Texas and big cities, and Tampa is a big city, but it is everywhere it touches. I think every city in our country and traveling around this country, it’s everywhere,” said Bondi.

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