Smuggler Jailed 3 Years For Deadly Voyage To PR

A Dominican smuggler has been sentenced to three years in prison for a sea voyage carrying illegal immigrants to Puerto Rico that took the lives of three people.

Simeon de la Cruz was captain of a vessel that landed in western Puerto Rico with roughly 70 immigrants in October 2007 after two women and a man drowned during the trip across treacherous waters from the Dominican Republic.

De La Cruz was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents in November 2007. He was sentenced Thursday to 37 months in prison by a U.S. District Court judge in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Thousands of people risk the journey from the Dominican Republic each year in hopes of finding prosperity in the nearby U.S. Caribbean territory.