Two men convicted in 2022 smuggling conspiracy that killed 53 migrants
March 19 (UPI) -- A federal jury has convicted two men for their involvement in the fatal smuggling scheme that led to the deaths of 53 migrants in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer in 2022.
Federal prosecutors said Felipe Orduna-Torres, 30, and Armando Gonzalez-Ortega, 55, were convicted Tuesday, each on three counts related to the smuggling scheme, and face a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on June 27.
The pair were arrested in June 2023, almost a year to the day after dozens of migrants were found dead in the back of a tractor-trailer abandoned on the side of a San Antonio road on June 27, 2022.
Sixty-six migrants were in the back of the trailer without water or functioning air conditioning as they were driven for hours across the state of Texas.
Forty-eight of the migrants were pronounced dead at the scene, while five people who were transported to area hospitals later died. Six children and a pregnant woman were among the deceased.
According to federal prosecutors, the migrant families paid the defendants and their co-conspirators between $12,000 and $15,000 to be smuggled into the United States.
Coinciding with the convictions, a third defendant, Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco, 48, was extradited to the United States from Guatemala to face charges in connection with the conspiracy.
Federal prosecutors accused Miranda-Orozco of being a leader of a Guatemala-based smuggling organization. He made his first appearance in a San Antonio federal court on Monday.
Guatemalan authorities arrested him in August at the request of the United States in a large law enforcement operation carried out across the Central American country.
"The extradition of Miranda-Orozco to U.S. custody is a major step in the takedown of a large and complex human smuggling organization he is alleged to be a part of," acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas said in a statement.
"Just as we've shown throughout the trial of Orduna-Torres and Gonzalez-Ortega, we will continue to prosecute this case aggressively -- seeking justice for those who have perished and holding accountable those who illegally value profit over human life."
Five other defendants have pleaded guilty to their involvement in the case.
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