San Diego Man Sentenced to Three Months for Smuggling 17 Protected Parrots and Parakeets

SAN DIEGO - Ricardo Alonzo of San Diego was sentenced in federal court to three months in prison for smuggling protected parrots and parakeets into the United States without the required quarantines designed to prevent the spread of diseases.

At a hearing yesterday, Alonzo was also ordered to pay $3,262 in restitution to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the care and quarantine of the parakeets. Three of the 17 smuggled birds died.

"This defendant used illegal smuggling practices that disregarded the laws of the United States, the lives of the birds he was smuggling, and wildlife within the United States," said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. "Our office is committed to holding accountable anyone who endangers wildlife and the public."

"This investigation highlights the critical work our law enforcement officers undertake to protect wildlife and natural resources from exploitation," said Assistant Director Doug Ault of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement. "Alonzo undermined the vital conservation of vulnerable populations of Burrowing Parakeets, Yellow-Crowned Amazon Parrots, and Red-Lored Amazon Parrots by illegally removing them from their habitat and smuggling them into the U.S., circumventing controls meant to prevent the entry of zoonotic diseases and other pathogens into the U.S. This investigation demonstrates the strong collaboration between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Department of Justice in bringing wildlife traffickers to justice.

According to court records and evidence presented in court, Alonzo crossed the border on May 4, 2025, at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. During inspection, the defendant lied and twice stated that he had nothing to declare. The defendant's lies were uncovered in secondary inspection, when a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer noticed some lunch box-sized bags hidden under the rear seat of the car. The bags contained three chickens and 17 juvenile birds-the birds were later identified by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service inspector as 10 Burrowing Parakeets (Cyanoliseus patagonus), five Yellow-Crowned Amazon Parrots (Amazona ochrocephala), and two Red-Lored Amazon Parrots (Amazona autumnalis). The parakeets and parrots were juvenile birds of differing ages, likely between one week and a few months old, some of them appearing young enough that they could not yet fully walk.

Burrowing Parakeets (Cyanoliseus patagonus) are local to Chile and Argentina, whereas Yellow-Crowned Amazon Parrots (Amazona ochrocephala) and Red-Lored Amazon Parrots (Amazona autumnalis) are native to Mexico, the West Indies, and northern South America. All three species are protected and listed under Appendix II to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The lawful importation of these parrots and parakeets requires the importer to follow a process, and the birds must be subject to quarantine before they can be introduced into the United States. Many animals have diseases that can be transferred to humans (zoonotic diseases) or other animals, which can have disastrous health effects. For example, birds can carry and spread avian influenza (bird flu), psittacosis, and histoplasmos. Bird flu is highly contagious and can cause flu like symptoms, respiratory illness, pneumonia and death in humans and other birds including the United States poultry farms. There are many other diseases that can be transmitted from different animals and have disastrous effects, which is why it is necessary to quarantine animals entering the United States to limit and safeguard against this potential disease transmission.

One of the juvenile birds the defendant hid in his car and illegally imported

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabet F. Brown.

DEFENDANT Case Number 25CR2234-AJB

Ricardo Alonzo Age: 27 San Diego, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Unlawful Importation of Wildlife - 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A) and 3373(d)(1)(A)

Maximum penalty: Five years in custody, $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Office of Law Enforcement

Homeland Security Investigations