Captains of smuggling boat that capsized off California, killing 3, sentenced to federal prison

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The captains of a smuggling boat that capsized off California last year, killing three people, have been sentenced to federal prison. Jorge Armando Preciado-Vasquez and Alexis Martinez-Preciado were each given more than 4 years in prison Thursday. Authorities said they were piloting a boat containing seven adults and a child over Thanksgiving weekend in 2022 when it overturned off Imperial Beach, several miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. A man and woman from Mexico and a woman from Guatemala drowned. Hundreds of maritime smuggling operations occur every year off California’s coast and some have claimed lives. In March, eight people died when two migrant smuggling boats overturned off the coast of San Diego.