Jury convicts two men in smuggling operation that killed 53 migrants
Two men involved in a smuggling operation were convicted of federal charges Tuesday for their part in a 2022 border crossing attempt that left 53 migrants dead after they were trapped in the back of of an unairconditioned tractor trailer in the hot Texas summer.
Felipe Orduna-Torres, 30, and Armando Gonzalez-Ortega, 55, were convicted of several charges, including conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants resulting in death. They both face of life in prison when they are sentenced in June.
The June 2022 disaster was one of the deadliest smuggling attempts in American history. The migrants, who came from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, were charged between $12,000 to $15,000 each to embark on the journey, which ended in San Antonio, Texas.
'These defendants knew the air conditioning did not work,' Margaret Leachman, the acting US attorney for the Western District of Texas, said at a press conference after the verdict. 'Nevertheless, they disregarded the danger.'
Orduna-Torres was the 'lead organizer' of the smuggling group, she said, and Gonzales-Ortega was his 'right-hand man.'
Prosecutors alleged that Orduna-Torres and Gonzalez-Ortega were part of the smuggling organization that loaded 66 migrants into the truck and drove from the border town of Laredo, Texas, to San Antonio. The temperature during the three-hour ride was sweltering, prosecutors said at trial, and migrants inside the tractor-trailer began scratching at its walls trying to escape. Others lost consciousness.
When the doors of the tractor-trailer were opened in San Antonio, 48 migrants had died inside, the Justice Department said, and another five died at the hospital. Six children and a pregnant woman were among the dead.
Five other men previously pleaded guilty to charges connecting to the smuggling case, including the driver of the tractor-trailer.
The Justice Department also announced that another man, Rigoberto Miranda-Orozco, was extradited from Guatemala to face charges for his alleged role in the mass casualty event. Prosecutors allege that Miranda-Orozco charged several migrants, or their friends and family, for the journey – three of whom died in the tractor-trailer. He is facing six federal charges and has not yet entered a formal plea.
Matthew Galeotti, who leads the Justice Department's criminal division, said in a statement Tuesday that the extradition 'sends the message that the Department of Justice will pursue human smugglers who violate U.S. law no matter where they are.'
This story has been updated with additional details.
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