Three years after the deadliest human smuggling tragedy in US history, two men were sentenced to decades in jail for their involvement.
On the third anniversary of the tragedy, Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzales-Ortega were condemned as the first defendants in the case, which killed 53 people near San Antonio, Texas.
In June 2022, a neighborhood worker called San Antonio police after hearing calls for aid and discovering an abandoned trailer. According to Police Chief William McManus, officers found dozens of bodies inside.
More than a dozen survivors were transported to nearby hospitals and treated for heat-related ailments such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Fire Chief Charles Hood stated that the trailer lacked operational air conditioning and water, and it was unclear how long the migrants had been imprisoned before being discovered.
According to CBS News, the trailer included 64 migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. According to the indictment, each paid between $12,000 and $15,000 to be transported into the United States.
One survivor told The Associated Press that the gang arrived in Laredo before being placed onto the trailer for the six-hour trip to Houston, but the truck never made it beyond San Antonio.
When authorities unlocked the doors, 48 individuals had already died. Sixteen others were transported to hospitals, where five died.
According to local station KENS, Orduna-Torres, who prosecutors characterized as the smuggling operation’s ringleader, was sentenced to two life terms plus an additional 20 years. Gonzales-Ortega, named as his top assistant, was sentenced to more than 87 years behind bars. The two men were also fined $250,000.
According to investigators, the two were members of a global smuggling organization that operated in Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. They planned routes, guides, stash houses, trucks, and trailers to transport people across the United States-Mexico border.
Aside from Orduna-Torres and Gonzales-Ortega, five other defendants have pled guilty to felony counts in the case, including the truck’s driver, Homero Zamorano Jr., who was discovered hiding near the site.
Zamorano is due to be sentenced in December and might face a life sentence. The remaining accused are anticipated to be sentenced later this year.