A Santa Barbara man accused of smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States near the Ocean Beach Pier, where three drowned during the attempt in 2022, made his first appearance in a San Diego federal courtroom Feb. 22.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Faustino Romero De La Cruz, 40, was arrested in Santa Barbara Feb. 21 and is now facing charges for the incident.

Court records show that in April 2022, human smugglers attempted to bring the unauthorized immigrants from Mexico aboard a “cuddy-style boat,” according to the attorney’s office, and as the boat neared the shore it capsized with everyone aboard. Law enforcement responded but couldn’t save the three victims.

Mr. Romero was identified by Homeland Security agents as responsible for coordinating the transportation of migrants from Mexico by land and sea, for which he “collected thousands of dollars in smuggling fees” to take them to Northern California and other locations.

“Too many precious lives are needlessly lost in catastrophic incidents like this one,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Tara McGrath in a statement. “Case after case demonstrates that smugglers are more interested in maximizing profits than safety, which all too often leads to tragic results.”

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Diego special agent in charge Chad Plantz said smuggling by sea has repeatedly demonstrated to be unsafe.

“Maritime human smuggling has proven time and time again to be incredibly dangerous and often results in senseless claimed lives,” he said. “While transnational criminal organizations seek to enrich themselves using the tactic, HSI is committed to using all means at our disposal to investigate and hold accountable those placing human beings at substantial risk of injury and death.”