US government indicts Guatemalan suspect on smuggling charges over deaths of 53 migrants in trailer

A suspect arrested in Guatemala has been charged with helping coordinate the 2022 smuggling attempt that ended in the deaths of 53 migrants in Texas, the Justice Department announced Thursday, marking what U.S. officials called a significant expansion of their investigation into the horrific discovery inside an abandoned tractor-trailer on a back road.

U.S. authorities they will seek the extradition of Rigoberto Román Miranda Orozco, who is charged with six counts of migrant smuggling resulting in death or serious injury in the deadliest human smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border. Authorities alleged he can be connected to four Guatemalan migrants in the trailer, three of whom died, and faces up to life in prison if convicted.

“We will pursue you, whether you are hiding in the United States or you’re hiding elsewhere,” U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza said at a news conference in San Antonio.

Miranda Orozco, 47, is the first person arrested outside of the country to face charges in the U.S. in connection with the investigation. Esparza said seven people have been arrested in the U.S. Guatemalan officials announced the arrests of Miranda Orozco and six more people accused of helping smuggle the migrants Wednesday. Of those, only Miranda Orozco faces extradition to the U.S. and the others will be tried in Guatemala, Esparza said.

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Carlos Merida, a lawyer for Miranda Orozco in Guatemala, said his client did not accept the charges, instead saying he was a regular citizen “who was a migrant in the north (U.S.) for 15 years.”

Those who were charged previously include Homero Zamorano Jr., who authorities say drove the truck, and Christian Martinez. Both are from Texas and were arrested shortly after the migrants were found. Martinez has since pleaded guilty to smuggling-related charges, while Zamorano pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

Four Mexican nationals were also arrested in 2023.

Authorities say the men were aware that the trailer’s air-conditioning unit was malfunctioning and would not blow cool air to the migrants trapped inside during the sweltering, three-hour ride from the border city of Laredo to San Antonio. Temperatures reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) while migrants screamed and banged the walls of the trailer for help or tried to claw their way out, investigators said.

According to the indictment against Miranda Orozco that was unsealed Wednesday, the smugglers had forced the migrants to give up their cellphones before getting inside the trailer, leaving them no way to call for help. An unknown powder was spread around the trailer to prevent the smell of human cargo from being detected by patrol dogs at border inspection stations.

When the trailer was opened in San Antonio, 48 migrants were already dead. Another 16 were taken to hospitals, where five more died. The dead included 27 people from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador. President Joe Biden called the tragedy “horrifying and heartbreaking.”

Authorities allege that the men worked with human smuggling operations in Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, and shared routes, guides, stash houses, trucks and trailers, some of which were stored at a private parking lot in San Antonio.

Migrants paid the organization up to $15,000 each to be taken across the border. The fee would cover up to three attempts to get into the country.

Guatemalan officials accuse the group of housing and transferring hundreds of migrants to the United States over several years.

Guatemala Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez told The Associated Press the arrests were made after 13 raids in three of the country’s departments. Police also seized vehicles and cash and rescued other migrants during the operations, Guatemalan officials said in a statement.

Santiago Palomo, spokesman for Guatemala’s presidency, said the arrest “reflects the commitment of the Guatemalan government to the fight against organized crime” and collaborate with international agencies.

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Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas, and Pérez from Guatemala City.