Four Mexican men arrested by federal agents in fatal tractor-trailer smuggling case with 53 immigrant deaths.
AUSTIN, Texas — Four Mexican Men Arrested for Human Smuggling Operation Resulting in 53 Deaths
Federal agents have made a significant breakthrough in the case of the tragic deaths of 53 illegal immigrants who were abandoned in an overheated tractor-trailer in San Antonio last summer. The Department of Justice and Homeland Security announced on Tuesday, exactly one year after the tragedy, that four individuals have been indicted for their roles in the human smuggling operation that led to the loss of 53 lives and left 12 others injured. The arrests were made during law enforcement operations in San Antonio, Houston, and Marshall, Texas.
Cracking Down on Human Smuggling
“One year ago today, an unthinkable crime perpetrated by human smugglers at our southern border caused the death of 53 human beings,” said DOJ Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “But today’s arrests demonstrate that those who seek to profit from desperation will be brought to justice.”
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas hailed the announcement as “another important step” in the Biden administration’s “unprecedented” effort to combat those who profit from smuggling immigrants into the United States.
The Indicted Men
The men indicted in court documents are Riley Covarrubias-Ponce, aka Rrili and Rilay, 30; Felipe Orduna-Torres, aka Cholo, Chuequito/Chuekito, and Negro, 28; Luis Alberto Rivera-Leal, aka Cowboy, 37; and Armando Gonzales-Ortega, aka El Don and Don Gon, 53.
Each man has been indicted on multiple counts, including conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death, conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy, transportation of illegal aliens resulting in death, and transportation of illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy.
The Smuggling Operation
The indictment alleges that all four men were involved in cross-border smuggling operations of children and adults from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico to the U.S. between December 2021 and June 2022.
Leading up to June 27, 2022, the four men coordinated the housing and transportation of dozens of immigrants. Homero Zamorano Jr. of Elkhart, Texas, the driver of the tractor-trailer, and Christian Martinez of Palestine, Texas, were previously charged in connection with the case.
According to the indictment, Orduna-Torres provided the Laredo address where the immigrants were to board the truck, and Gonzalez-Ortega traveled to Laredo to meet the truck as the 66 people, including a pregnant woman and eight minors, were loaded. Throughout the truck’s 150-mile journey north of Interstate-35, all four indicted men communicated with each other.
“Some of the defendants charged were allegedly aware that the trailer’s air-conditioning unit was malfunctioning and would not blow any cool air to the migrants inside,” stated the DOJ and DHS announcement. “When members of the organization met the tractor-trailer at the end of its nearly three-hour journey to San Antonio, they opened the doors to find 48 of the migrants, including the pregnant woman, were already dead. Sixteen of the undocumented individuals were transported to hospitals, and five of them died there.”
If convicted on the most serious counts, each of the indicted men faces up to life in prison.
Source: The Washington Examiner
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