El Paso Man Sentenced to 24 Years for Migrant Hostage-Taking and Fentanyl Trafficking

El Paso resident Simon Roberto Alvarado, 39, was sentenced in federal court to 292 months in prison. He was convicted for harboring migrants, taking them hostage, and conspiring to distribute fentanyl following a previous felony drug conviction.

Court documents reveal that Alvarado, along with Juan Carlos Calzada, 30, and Mexican national Janeth Nicole Magallanes, 26, detained six migrants from Guatemala and Honduras. The hostages were kept in an apartment where the captors threatened violence if their families did not pay ransoms.

On January 5, 2021, FBI agents arrested Magallanes during surveillance at the residence, where the hostages and several weapons were discovered. Alvarado, identified as the owner of the apartment, was also linked to trafficking over 400 grams of fentanyl in the Western District of Texas based on evidence found on his phone.

Calzada was sentenced on February 14 to 78 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit hostage-taking, while Magallanes received a 120-month sentence for hostage-taking on February 20.

The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge John S. Morales of the FBI El Paso. The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Valenzuela, Kyle Myers, and Adam Hines.