Akwesasne woman sought in U.S. over drownings of migrants in St. Lawrence River [Video]

MONTREAL –

The United States is seeking the extradition of a woman from Akwesasne Mohawk Territory who is alleged to have been a key player in a human smuggling operation tied to the drownings of eight migrants last year.

Stephanie Square, 51, was indicted on nine charges by a grand jury in the Northern District of New York in June in connection with the deaths of a Romanian family of four who were among eight migrants who drowned in the St. Lawrence River. The charges include conspiracy to commit alien smuggling, smuggling for profit, and alien smuggling resulting in death.

The Romanian family and four people from India died in late March 2023 while trying to enter illegally into the U.S. from Canada through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory, which straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York state.

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The bodies …