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Two alleged people smugglers have been charged after a panga boat holding migrants capsized off Imperial Beach, San Diego, killing four passengers, federal prosecutors said Monday.
The incident happened during rough surf and an argument reportedly broke out between the captain and those on board.
According to a release from the Department of Justice, David Alfonso Barrera Nunes, a Mexican national believed to be the boat’s captain, was arrested Saturday and charged with connection to the deaths of the four passengers.
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Four migrants died when an overloaded panga boat capsized in six-foot waves off Imperial Beach after engine problems sparked arguments between the captain and passengers aboard. (Petty Officer 3rd Class Roberto Nieves/Defense Visual Information Distribution Service via AP)
A second man, Luis Enrique Barreto Goitia, also a Mexican national, was charged with “Bringing in Aliens Resulting in Death and Bringing in Aliens for Financial Gain,” per the release.
A passenger on the boat was also charged with being a previously removed alien who illegally reentered the U.S. He was most recently removed on Nov. 3, 2025, and was first deported in 2012.
The incident began Nov. 14 when Customs and Border Protection agents were alerted to a small boat crossing the international maritime boundary.
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Captain David Alfonso Barrera Nunes refused passengers’ pleas to return to Mexico before his panga boat overturned in rough surf, resulting in four deaths at Imperial Beach. (Google Maps)
About an hour later, they found a capsized panga in six-foot waves off Imperial Beach as survivors came out from the surf.
Nine people were thought to be aboard; four died and five were rescued or detained and taken to local hospitals, per the release.
Passengers told of an ordeal in which the boat had engine problems, sparking an argument between the captain and several passengers who pleaded with him to turn back to Mexico.
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People in Tijuana, Mexico look though the US-Mexico border wall at Border Field State Park on August 17, 2025 in Imperial Beach, California. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
Per the complaint seen by Fox News Digital, prosecutors said Barrera Nunes refused and attempted to push toward shore despite having no engine power.
The panga rotated in the heavy surf and overturned. According to the complaint, Barrera Nunes was the second person to reach the beach and made no attempt to help his passengers.
One survivor reportedly told patrol agents he had been trapped inside the submerged cabin but found a pocket of air that allowed him to breathe until agents flipped the vessel upright.
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Another man said he reluctantly accompanied his granddaughter on the journey.
Before the capsizing, he said, the captain ordered everyone to jump overboard, but as the boat rolled, he managed to pull his granddaughter free but became trapped himself, suffering a severe leg injury from a piece of metal before ultimately being rescued.
Fox News Digital has reached out to The Department of Justice for further comment.