Panga Captain Charged After Deadly Capsizing That Killed Four Off Imperial Beach

Four migrants died and five others survived after a small panga boat capsized in rough seas near Imperial Beach late on Friday night.

U.S. authorities said on Monday that the man believed to be the captain, 37-year-old Mexican national David Alfonso Barrera, has been arrested and charged with smuggling migrants for money and smuggling that resulted in death. These charges could lead to life in prison or the death penalty.

According to court documents, the passengers boarded a small blue boat in Rosarito late on Friday. Survivors told investigators that the engine stopped working as the boat travelled north.

Some passengers argued with the captain and asked him to turn back to Mexico, but one survivor said he refused and contacted someone to ask for a closer landing point in the U.S.

At about 11:30 p.m., U.S. Border Patrol received a report about a vessel crossing the maritime boundary. An hour later, agents found the boat overturned in six-foot waves near Imperial Beach, close to the U.S.–Mexico border. Several people were seen coming out of the water.

Officials believe nine people were onboard. Four died, and five were rescued or detained and taken to hospital. All five survivors said they were Mexican citizens.

One man and his adult granddaughter were inside the cabin when the boat rolled. The man told authorities he managed to free her but was stuck himself because a piece of metal pierced his leg.

He believed he would die until someone pulled him out. His granddaughter said she had attempted a similar sea crossing about a week earlier but was sent back to Mexico, and then tried again immediately.

Another survivor said he had been told to sit inside the cabin. When the boat overturned, he found a pocket of air. A wave then flipped the boat again, which allowed him to escape. He could not swim but still managed to reach the shore, where Border Patrol agents helped him.

Barrera told investigators he had paid more than $13,000 to be smuggled into the U.S. and planned to go to Los Angeles. He claimed that another man, described as thin and around his age, was actually operating the boat. But when investigators showed him photos of all the rescued or deceased passengers, he said the operator was not in the pictures.

A second man, 39-year-old Mexican national Luis Enrique Barreto Goitia, was also charged. He was accused of illegally re-entering the U.S. after being removed on 3 November.

He told agents he had agreed to pay around $16,000 to reach the U.S. and hoped to join family in Riverside. Records show he has a felony conviction from 2012 and has been deported several times, most recently less than two weeks before the incident.

Three of the people who died were identified as Epifanio Molina Bravo, Bartolo Baltazar Baltazar, and Hector Lopez Lopez. They were Mexican nationals from Veracruz and Guanajuato. A fourth victim, a woman, has not yet been identified.

The Mexican Consulate in San Diego said it is contacting families and speaking with the survivors. Consul General Alicia Kerber urged migrants not to rely on smugglers, saying they often do not care about people’s lives.

U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said the incident showed how smugglers ignored bad weather, rough seas and overloaded boats while trying to make money.

The U.S. Coast Guard, which took part in the rescue, said earlier this year that it had increased resources along the southern maritime border to improve security and response efforts.

Maritime smuggling remains a major concern in the region. Border Patrol data shows 490 smuggling events and 1,526 apprehensions in fiscal year 2025, which ended on 30 September. The year before, there were 589 events and 1,375 apprehensions.

In January, a 57-year-old Mexican woman drowned when a smuggling boat overturned in heavy surf near Ocean Beach, pushing more than 20 people into the water. In May, four people, including two Indian children and two Mexican men, died when a panga carrying 19 migrants capsized off Del Mar.

Five people were charged in that case. One of them, Sergio Rojas Fregoso, was sentenced this week to 16 months in prison for transporting migrants after they came ashore. Two alleged boat operators are awaiting trial.

Barrera is expected to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Leshner in the Southern District of California later this week for a detention hearing.

References: sandiegouniontribune, cbsnews

Source: Maritime Shipping News