DOJ Shuts Down Human Smuggling Operation That Led to 53 Deaths in Texas

People place flowers and candles at a makeshift memorial where a tractor-trailer was discovered with deceased illegal immigrants inside, near San Antonio, Texas, on June 29, 2022. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

A Department of Justice (DOJ) task force take-down of a human smuggling operation in Guatemala on Wednesday has led to 14 arrests.

The human smuggling operation transported people from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico into the United States between 2021 and 2022.

In June 2022, 53 illegal immigrants—including six children and one pregnant woman—died from overheating in a tractor-trailer during the operation’s transport through Texas.

Among those arrested in Guatemala was 47-year-old Rigoberto Miranda-Orozco.

“This tragedy is a dire warning of the dangers that human smugglers cause by exposing migrants to life-threatening conditions for the smugglers’ financial gain,” Nicole Argentieri, principal deputy assistant attorney general, said in the announcement.

“Dismantling human smuggling networks is a critical priority for the Criminal Division, and we will continue to work with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute these cases, no matter where the offenders may be found.”

Miranda-Orozco charged migrants up to $15,000 for transport. He faces six counts of smuggling illegal immigrants resulting in injury and death, with a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Overheating Led to Death

Argentieri said that the overheating was the result of broken air conditioning.

“As the temperatures rose, some of the migrants inside the trailer allegedly lost consciousness while others clawed at the walls trying to escape,” she said. “By the time the tractor-trailer reached San Antonio, the indictment alleges that 48 migrants had already died, and another five migrants died after being transported to local hospitals.”

Local authorities arrested Miranda-Orozco in Guatemala at the request of the DOJ earlier this week, and the United States is seeking extradition, she said.

Four other defendants have pleaded guilty to three counts of transporting illegal immigrants that resulted in death and injury.

“The tragedy serves as a dire warning of the dangers that migrants face when they put their lives in the hands of human smugglers, smugglers who are willing to expose migrants to life-threatening conditions for their own financial gain,” Argentieri said.

The DOJ’s Joint Task Force Alpha led the effort to shut down the operation. It was established in 2021 to combat human smuggling taking place in Central America, the DOJ said.

The task force coordinates with the Department of Homeland Security and foreign law enforcement to target smuggling organizations that have the most impact on the United States, the DOJ said.

“In launching Joint Task Force Alpha three years ago, the Department of Justice directed every tool at our disposal to the dismantling of human smuggling networks across the continent,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “And after the tragic deaths of 53 migrants in June 2022, we pledged to hold accountable those responsible, no matter where they live or operate.”