In a major transnational operation, which included coordination and collaboration with the U.S. Justice Department, law enforcement authorities in Guatemala arrested seven people and dismantled a human smuggling ring connected to 53 migrants deaths in San Antonio two years ago.
In June 2022, the ring smuggled dozens of migrants into the U.S., with 53 dying after suffering heat-related injuries when they were left stranded in an abandoned tractor-trailer along a rural road in San Antonio.
Calling it a major domestic and international operation in response to what local officials called a "horrible human tragedy," the arrests made Wednesday are part of a transnational effort to dismantle human smuggling operations in Guatemala and in Central America, the U.S. Justice Department said in its announcement Thursday.
"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,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement Thursday. “With these arrests, the Justice Department and our partners in Guatemala have now arrested a total of 14 people for their alleged involvement in this tragedy."
While six of those arrested Wednesday face charges in Guatemala, Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco, 47, has been indicted in U.S. federal court in the Western District of Texas on six counts of human smuggling that resulted in bodily injury or death.
Miranda-Orozco is accused of having facilitated the transportation of four migrants, charging them $12,000 to $15,000 for the trip, from Guatemala through Mexico to the United States, and he now faces "maximum penalties of life in prison." Three of the migrants died in the trailer, while a fourth suffered serious bodily injury, according to Miranda-Orozco's indictment.
More: 26 migrants found, 7 arrested in human smuggling operation near San Antonio
“This was a complex operation and a major success for the progression of this case — apprehending a key orchestrator of the horrendous smuggling operations in which families were charged thousands of dollars for trusted transport across the U.S. border from Guatemala and other countries,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas in the joint statement Thursday. “This significant development in the case demonstrates the commitment of this office, the Department of Justice, and our partners at all necessary levels, to ensure all 53 migrants who died in the 2022 tractor-trailer tragedy get their justice.”
According to court documents, the trailer was loaded with 65 migrants, and during transportation along "a Texas interstate" there was no functioning air conditioner and by the time the trailer arrived in San Antonio , 48 migrants had died, including six children and a pregnant woman.
On the evening of June 27, 2022, a San Antonio city worker heard a cry for help, and then discovered a trailer parked along a rural backroad in southwest San Antonio, which was filled with dozens of people dying or dead due to heat-related injuries.
“We are not supposed to open up a truck and see stacks of bodies in there,” San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood told media as the scene unfolded.
At the time, 46 people were declared dead initially as officials arrived to the scene . Sixteen others, including four children, were taken to area hospitals for treatment. Suffering from heat stroke and heat exhaustion, the migrants were "hot to the touch."
“Smugglers prey on migrants and seek profits with complete disregard for human life, as we saw in this tragic incident that killed 53 people,” said U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. “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.”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: DOJ arrests 7 connected to 2022 human smuggling operation that left 53 dead in San Antonio
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