An east Texas truck driver pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the deaths of 53 migrants found inside a semitrailer with no air conditioning during scorching temperatures. The 2022 incident is the deadliest human smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border in American history.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Thursday, Jan. 16, that Homero Zamarono Jr. pleaded guilty to several charges including “conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death.”
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Zamorano is set to be sentenced on April 24. He faces the possibility of life in prison, according to DOJ.
Authorities said Zamorano drove a truck that he and other men knew had a broken air conditioner with nearly 70 migrants inside the vehicle’s trailer for three hours from Laredo, Texas, to San Antonio, Texas.
Investigators said temperatures were in the triple digits as migrants cried for help and tried to escape.
Prosecutors said the migrants in the truck’s trailer were unable to call authorities because the human smugglers had taken their cellphones.
According to an indictment, those involved in the operation spread an unknown powder around the trailer. Investigators said this was to prevent patrol dogs from detecting the smell of human cargo at border checkpoints.
The bodies of 48 migrants were found by police when the truck reached San Antonio. Sixteen others were taken to the hospital, where five more people died.
Authorities also charged Christian Martinez in the case.
Officers arrested both Zamorano and Martinez shortly after police found the migrants inside the truck’s trailer.
Martinez has also pleaded guilty to multiple smuggling-related charges.
Investigators said the men worked with human smugglers from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, sharing routes, guides and stash houses as well as trucks and trailers.
Prosecutors said the migrants were charged $15,000 each to be smuggled across the U.S. border. The cost covered three attempts.
