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Man Pleads Guilty To Smuggling, Holding Immigrants Hostage

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An illegal immigrant from Guatemala has pleaded guilty to smuggling people into California and holding them
in brutal captivity until their relatives paid thousands of dollars.

Federal immigration officials say 29-year-old Pedro Marcos-Marcos entered pleas Tuesday in Los Angeles to five felony
counts, including hostage taking. He faces up to life in prison at his sentencing in February.

Marcos-Marcos was arrested in August in an investigation that began after a Salvadoran man and an Ecuadorean were rescued from a
Lancaster home. Immigration agents say the Salvadoran told them he was starved and beaten by captors who demanded $6,000 in smuggling fees.

Two other men found at the home pleaded guilty to hostage taking and await sentencing.

(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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