Seven more people arrested in horrific migrant ‘death trailer’ case

Guatemalan police arrested seven Guatemalans on Wednesday on suspicion of smuggling 53 migrants from Mexico and Central America who died of asphyxiation in Texas in 2022 after being left in a semi-trailer in the scorching summer heat. They were the latest arrests after a years-long investigation into the deadliest tragedy involving migrants smuggled across the border from Mexico, the AP reports. Eight children were among the dead. Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez says the arrests were made possible after 13 raids in three departments of the country. Among them was Rigoberto Román Miranda Orozco, the alleged leader of the smuggling gang, whose extradition the United States has requested.

Police also seized vehicles and cash during the operations and rescued more migrants, it said in a statement. “This is a joint effort by the Guatemalan police and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as other national authorities, to dismantle human trafficking structures, one of the strategic objectives of government President Bernardo Arévalo to combat the phenomenon of irregular migration,” Jiménez said. Authorities have alleged that the men collaborated with human smuggling organizations in Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, sharing routes, guides, hideouts, trucks and trailers, some of which were parked in a private parking lot in San Antonio.

Six people have already been charged. Homero Zamorano Jr., who authorities said was driving the truck, and Christian Martinez were arrested shortly after the migrants were found. Both are from Texas. Martinez later pleaded guilty to smuggling charges. Zamorano pleaded not guilty to smuggling charges and is awaiting trial. Four Mexican citizens were also arrested in 2023. Authorities said the men were aware that the trailer's air conditioning was not working properly and could not provide cool air to the migrants trapped inside during the three-hour, sweltering drive from the border city of Laredo to San Antonio.

(More stories about human trafficking.)