On Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department announced in San Antonio that a Guatemalan man has been charged with helping coordinate the 2022 smuggling attempt that ended in the deaths of 53 migrants, who were found dead in a big-rig trailer in 2022 in Texas. Guatemalan law enforcement worked with U.S. agents in multiple search and arrest warrants across Guatemala.
U.S. authorities are seeking to extradite Rigoberto Roman Miranda Orozco, 47, who was indicted in the Western District of Texas in connection with the tractor trailer deaths — the deadliest human smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border. The bodies were found in San Antonio in the back of a tractor trailer in which the air conditioning was broken and there was no water, according to prosecutors. Authorities alleged that Orozco could be connected to four Guatemalan migrants in the trailer, three of whom died, and faces up to life in prison if convicted. Six others also were arrested as part of the operation and will be charged in Guatemala. 14 people have been arrested for their roles, in all.
Attorney General Garland said in a news release: “Over the past two years, the Justice Department has worked methodically to hold accountable those responsible for the horrific tragedy in San Antonio that killed 53 people who had been preyed on by human smugglers. We are committed to continuing to work with our partners both in the United States and abroad to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia and Panama.”
In January, a Mexican national, Riley Covarrubias-Ponce, 31, pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle the migrants, admitting to accompanying the loaded tractor-trailer before it was abandoned in San Antonio. Christian Martinez, 29, of Texas also pleaded guilty in September for his involvement with four other suspects, including Homero Zamorano Jr., the 47-year-old driver of the tractor.
On June 1, 2021 — one year before the incident — Garland created Joint Task Force Alpha in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security to strengthen U.S. enforcement efforts against human smuggling emanating from Central America. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement: “Today’s arrests in Guatemala are a continued fulfillment of that pledge. We will not rest in our efforts to disrupt the smuggling networks that capitalize on desperation and foster misery throughout the Western Hemisphere.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said: “Smugglers prey on migrants and seek profits with complete disregard for human life, as we saw in this tragic incident that killed 53 people. The men and women at Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection work every day to disrupt these sophisticated smuggling networks, and we will continue to work alongside our federal and international partners to dismantle them at every level of operation.”
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