“Monzon stated he did not want to take one of his own juvenile children for fear that members of the 18th Street gang would see that a child was missing and possibly do harm to his family if they thought Monzon was trying to flee Guatemala,” the special agent wrote.

The son of the friend near San Francisco was about the same age as Monzon’s son, so the smuggling coordinator told Monzon to use the birth certificate of Monzon’s son.

In late April 2018, the mother of the boy met Monzon at a bus stop near the Guatemala-Mexico border. The woman “handed the juvenile to Monzon and informed him that he was to take care of the child,” the special agent wrote.

About 400 people were waiting at the Guatemala-Mexico border and about 120 of them, including Monzon and the child, got onto three buses. Nearly all were traveling with children.

Monzon said he borrowed money to pay his half of the $5,000 smuggling fee to get to the United States. The family of the boy paid the other half, the special agent wrote.

In late June, the boy corroborated Monzon’s story, the special agent wrote. The boy said he was “coached to memorize the information” on the birth certificate belonging to Monzon’s son and told what to say to Mexican authorities if they stopped the bus in Mexico.