He kidnapped Cuban migrants, and his mother collected the ransom, feds say

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — He promised to smuggle Cubans to the United States by way of Mexico, but instead kidnapped and tortured them, prosecutors say.

And his mom helped collect the ransom money from Cuban families in Miami, according to federal court documents.

Jose Miguel Gonzalez, alias “El Chupa,” made his first appearance in federal court last week after a Cuban migrant he allegedly kidnapped, tortured and extorted in late 2018 began speaking to authorities in October.

The migrant, who is unnamed in federal court documents, told authorities a harrowing tale laid out in a federal criminal affidavit. He paid smugglers associated with El Chupa $3,000 dollars to transport him by boat from Cuba to Mexico, and overland to the United States. There were 16 other Cubans migrants on the boat.

But when they got to Mexico, the 17 Cubans were met on the beach by men armed with machetes. The men placed hoods over their heads, and took them to a compound known as “the farm.”

In the affidavit, the migrant said El Chupa tried to extort another $7,000 from the migrant’s family in Cuba. When the migrant’s family couldn’t pay, El Chupa allegedly had his associates torture him at another compound, known as “the dungeon.”

There, the migrant was beaten with a paddle until his body was covered in bruises. In the affidavit, he says pictures of the bruises were sent to his relatives.

The migrant says he witnessed El Chupa and his associates rape and torture other migrants as a way of getting more money out of their families.

While in captivity, the migrant says he overheard El Chupa tell other captives that his mother was available to collect ransom payments in Miami.

Later, agents with Homeland Security Investigations confirmed ransom payments wired via Western Union to El Chupa by his mother in Miami, court documents say.

In the affidavit, the migrant was held by El Chupa for over two months, and then dumped onto the streets of a Mexican city without money or identification papers. It’s unclear if his family paid the ransom.

Prosecutors also accuse El Chupa of being a high-ranking member of a Cuban criminal organization that has spent the past decade kidnapping and extorting Cubans seeking freedom in the United States.

Court documents don’t name the group, but two sources familiar with the investigation said El Chupa is part of the El Jabao syndicate, a brutal and notorious Cuban organized crime network whose members have been jailed for pulling off the largest gold theft in Florida history, and who are suspected of smuggling, kidnapping, and extorting thousands of Cuban migrants.

At least 20 of the syndicate’s members are currently serving time in federal prison. Two of the El Jabao Organization’s leaders were jailed on charges stemming from sneaking Cuban baseball players Yasiel Puig and Raisel Iglesias into the United States and into the major leagues.

This September, Reynaldo Marquez Crespo, 41, and Jancer Sergio Ramos Valdes, 33, two Cuban nationals, were charged with similar crimes after allegedly participating in a conspiracy to smuggle, kidnap and extort Cuban migrants attempting to flee the island and make it to the United States. Federal authorities also accuse Crespo and Valdez of being part of the El Jabao syndicate.

El Chupa’s attorney could not be reached for comment. It is unclear if he was arrested in Mexico or the United States. His nationality and citizenship are also unclear.

If convicted, El Chupa could face a maximum of 20 years in prison for kidnapping and a maximum of 15 years for human smuggling.

El Chupa’s mother is not named in the affidavit. It’s unclear if she will be charged with a crime.

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