MIAMI — A 26-year-old Cuban woman is facing the possibility of spending the rest of her life behind bars due to her involvement in a human smuggling operation that tragically resulted in the deaths of 16 individuals.

Yaquelin Dominguez-Nieves, who resided in Sebring, Florida, entered a guilty plea on Tuesday in a federal court in Miami pertaining to charges of conspiracy to smuggle individuals into the United States. According to the court’s records, she is facing a minimum prison sentence of five years, but depending on the court’s decision, she could also receive a life sentence during her sentencing hearing scheduled for April 11.

As outlined in court documents, Dominguez-Nieves, along with her then-boyfriend, who was still in Cuba, initiated a human smuggling operation in November 2022. She allegedly gathered at least $11,500 from the families of the intended migrants in South Florida, promising them safe passage from Cuba to the U.S.

Reports indicate that the boyfriend, who has not yet been apprehended, crammed approximately 18 migrants onto a small fishing boat. Notably, the vessel lacked life jackets and was piloted by a captain who appeared to have little knowledge of how to handle the boat, as recounted by two survivors.

The vessel tragically sank about 30 miles into its journey. Among the victims were children, including a nine-month-old and younger children aged up to seven years, as well as two teenagers who were 16 years old. Authorities have confirmed that four of the bodies were recovered from the ocean, with a ruling that their cause of death was drowning.