Latest news with #Gonzales-Ortega
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Yahoo
2 Mexican nationals found guilty in deadliest human smuggling event in US history
Two Mexican nationals have been found guilty of their roles in the deadliest human smuggling event in U.S. history. Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzales-Ortega now face life in prison. Their sentencing will be on June 27, the three-year anniversary of the crime, FOX 29 reports. The two were charged after 53 immigrants died in the back of a sweltering tractor trailer with no air conditioning in San Antonio back in 2022. Sixty-seven illegal immigrants, including children, were found trapped in the semitrailer that had been abandoned on the side of the road after being smuggled across the border. Jurors in federal court in San Antonio took only about an hour to convict Orduna-Torres and Gonzales-Ortega, finding that they were part of a human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in death and injury. The trial lasted two weeks. San Antonio Migrant Deaths: Four More Arrested In Alleged Human Trafficking Operation That Left 53 Dead "It's the same day 53 persons died," the judge presiding over the trial said about the sentencing date, according to FOX 29. "Your liberty, if any, will be determined on that same date." Read On The Fox News App The migrants included 27 from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador. The dead included six children and a pregnant woman, according to The Associated Press. They had paid between $12,000 and $15,000 each to be smuggled into the United States, according to an indictment in the case obtained by the AP. 6 Migrants Dead, Dozens Missing After Shipwreck Near Italy Orduna-Torres was described as one of the leaders of the smuggling operation and Gonzales-Ortega as the coordinator. A jury found both guilty of all charges: conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death, causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy; transportation of illegal aliens resulting in death; and transportation of illegal aliens causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy. Five men previously pleaded guilty to felony charges in the smuggling case, including the truck driver Homero Zamorano Jr., who was found hiding near the trailer in some bushes. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Also pleading guilty are Christian Martinez, Luis Alberto Rivera-Leal, Riley Covarrubias-Ponce and Juan Francisco D'Luna Bilbao. All five will be sentenced later this year. Another person charged in the U.S. remains a fugitive, Leachman said. Several others have been charged in Mexico and Guatemala. "This case exemplifies why we all must pay attention. Human smuggling is dehumanizing. It's dangerous and it can be deadly. Smuggling victims are often subject to rape, kidnapping, extortion, exploitation and more. It will not stand. Our resolve in tackling these crimes will not waver," Matthew Gagliotti, Acting Head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, said, according to FOX 29. FOX News Digital's Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: 2 Mexican nationals found guilty in deadliest human smuggling event in US history
Fox News
19-03-2025
- Fox News
2 Mexican nationals found guilty in deadliest human smuggling event in US history
Two Mexican nationals have been found guilty of their roles in the deadliest human smuggling event in U.S. history. Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzales-Ortega now face life in prison. Their sentencing will be on June 27, the three-year anniversary of the crime, FOX 29 reports. The two were charged after 53 immigrants died in the back of a sweltering tractor trailer with no air conditioning in San Antonio back in 2022. Sixty-seven illegal immigrants, including children, were found trapped in the semitrailer that had been abandoned on the side of the road after being smuggled across the border. Jurors in federal court in San Antonio took only about an hour to convict Orduna-Torres and Gonzales-Ortega, finding that they were part of a human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in death and injury. The trial lasted two weeks. "It's the same day 53 persons died," the judge presiding over the trial said about the sentencing date, according to FOX 29. "Your liberty, if any, will be determined on that same date." The migrants included 27 from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador. The dead included six children and a pregnant woman, according to The Associated Press. They had paid between $12,000 and $15,000 each to be smuggled into the United States, according to an indictment in the case obtained by the AP. Orduna-Torres was described as one of the leaders of the smuggling operation and Gonzales-Ortega as the coordinator. A jury found both guilty of all charges: conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death, causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy; transportation of illegal aliens resulting in death; and transportation of illegal aliens causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy. Five men previously pleaded guilty to felony charges in the smuggling case, including the truck driver Homero Zamorano Jr., who was found hiding near the trailer in some bushes. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Also pleading guilty are Christian Martinez, Luis Alberto Rivera-Leal, Riley Covarrubias-Ponce and Juan Francisco D'Luna Bilbao. All five will be sentenced later this year. Another person charged in the U.S. remains a fugitive, Leachman said. Several others have been charged in Mexico and Guatemala. "This case exemplifies why we all must pay attention. Human smuggling is dehumanizing. It's dangerous and it can be deadly. Smuggling victims are often subject to rape, kidnapping, extortion, exploitation and more. It will not stand. Our resolve in tackling these crimes will not waver," Matthew Gagliotti, Acting Head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, said, according to FOX 29.
Washington Post
18-03-2025
- Washington Post
Guilty verdicts in first trial of smugglers charged in 53 migrants' deaths
Two Mexican nationals charged in the deaths of 53 migrants — who perished in June 2022 in this country's deadliest smuggling incident — were found guilty on all counts Tuesday in a federal courtroom in San Antonio. Neither Felipe Orduña-Torres nor Armando Gonzales-Ortega was accused of driving the vehicle that crossed the border and wound up on the outskirts of San Antonio on a broiling summer afternoon, with more than five dozen adults and children packed in a trailer with no water and little to no air-conditioning. Instead, the two men were accused of conspiracy to transport illegal migrants resulting in their death. According to court records, they worked with smugglers in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico to move undocumented immigrants to destinations throughout the United States. Prosecutors said Orduña-Torres held the list of names of people to transport, while Gonzales-Ortega helped load people into the truck. Both now face up to life in prison. Their sentencing is set for June 27, the third anniversary of the tragedy. The migrants who died in the sweltering vehicle were from the same countries as the smugglers. The youngest was 13, the oldest 55. At least one was pregnant. Six were minors. Each had paid between $12,000 and $15,000 to be brought into the United States. Eleven migrants survived the trek. Some testified along with law enforcement and witnesses during the trial, which began a week ago before U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia. The tragedy came during a record migration influx across the Mexico border. Horrific details were laid out in the federal grand jury indictment against Orduña-Torres, Gonzales-Ortega and two other men. 'As the temperature inside the trailer rose, chaos ensued,' the indictment recounted. 'Some aliens screamed and banged on the walls for help. Others kicked and clawed at the sides of the trailer attempting to escape. Most eventually passed out, unconscious.' Orduña-Torres and Gonzales-Ortega were arrested the following year and accused of working with four other individuals — sharing routes, guides and drivers, trucks and stash houses where the migrants would stay temporarily — to save money and minimize risk. A homeland security agent wrapped up testimony Tuesday, showing texts sent from Orduña-Torres's phone to co-conspirators who've already pleaded guilty in the case. Geo locations pinged their cellphones to the same areas in which the operation took place. Numerous other people are still awaiting trial. Driver Homero Zamorano Jr. is among those to have already pleaded guilty on a variety of charges. Zamorano, who was found hiding in the bushes as the grisly discovery was made, is scheduled to be sentenced next month. He faces life in prison.
