A Texas truck driver accused of killing 53 migrants who were riding in a sweltering tractor trailer without air conditioning pleaded guilty Thursday in the 2022 tragedy that became the country’s deadliest smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Homero Zamorano Jr., who lived in Texas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death, causing serious bodily injury, and endangering life; Charge of transporting aliens resulting in death; and one count of transporting aliens resulting in serious bodily injury and endangering life.
The 48-year-old could face a maximum sentence of life in prison. The US Department of Justice announced. Zamorano is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24.
Mark Stevens, Zamorano’s attorney, said in an email that he was unable to comment on a pending case.
Three hour flight
Authorities say Zamorano, who drove the truck, and other men charged with the smuggling attempt knew the trailer’s air conditioning unit was malfunctioning and did not pump cold air to the migrants trapped inside during the sweltering three-hour trip from the border city. Laredo to San Antonio.
Investigators said temperatures reached 38 degrees Celsius as the migrants screamed and banged on the walls of the trailer for help or tried to make their way out.
The truck was packed with 67 people, and among the dead were 27 from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador, according to Mexican authorities. Prosecutors said the migrants paid up to $15,000 to be transported across the US border.
The incident occurred on a remote back road in San Antonio on June 27, 2022. Police officers arrested Zamorano after they spotted him hiding in nearby woods, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. A search of Zamorano’s mobile phone showed calls related to the smuggling operation.
Surveillance video of the 18-wheeler passing through a Border Patrol checkpoint showed the driver matching Zamorano’s description, according to the indictment.
Also previously charged in the tragedy was Christian Martinez, of Texas, who was arrested with Zamorano shortly after the migrants were found. Martinez has since pleaded guilty to smuggling-related charges.
Four Mexican nationals were also arrested in the case in 2023.
In August, one of the suspects arrested in Guatemala was charged with helping to coordinate the smuggling attempt. US authorities will seek the extradition of Rigoberto Roman Miranda Orozco, charged with six counts of migrant smuggling resulting in death or serious injury. Authorities claimed he had contact with four Guatemalan migrants in the trailer, three of whom died, and he faces life imprisonment if convicted.
Mobile phone taken by smugglers: an indictment
According to the indictment against Miranda Orozco, the smugglers forced the migrants to give up their cell phones before entering the trailer, leaving them no way to call for help. An unknown powder was spread around the trailer to prevent the scent of human cargo from being detected by patrol dogs at border inspection posts.
When the trailer opened in San Antonio, 48 migrants were already dead. 16 others were taken to hospitals, where five others died. US President Joe Biden described the tragedy as “terrifying and heartbreaking.”
Those who died were looking for a better life. News of the trailer full of bodies was met with horror in towns and villages accustomed to seeing their young people leave, trying to flee poverty or violence in Central America and Mexico.
Authorities allege the men worked in human smuggling operations in Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, sharing routes, guides, storage houses, trucks and trailers, some of which were stored in a private parking lot in San Antonio.