Latest news with #TexasTragedy
CBC
14-07-2025
- CBC
Quadeville residents question attack response
July 13, 2025 | Residents of Quadeville, Ont., demand answers about the response to an attack on an 8-year-old girl. Wildfire smoke blankets Manitoba as more communities are evacuated. And, Canadian summer camps reassess their safety plans after the tragedy in Texas.
Irish Times
28-06-2025
- Irish Times
Two jailed for life after 53 migrants die in locked truck in Texas
Two men face spending the rest of their lives in prison after a federal judge sentenced them on Friday for their roles in the deaths of 53 people – including six children – who were found dead in an abandoned tractor-trailer in Texas in 2022. A federal jury in Texas had found the two men, Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzales-Ortega, guilty of various charges at the conclusion of a trial in March. Federal judge Orlando Garcia sentenced Orduna-Torres to life in prison and Gonzales-Ortega to 83 years of incarceration, essentially also a life sentence. The judge also imposed a $250,000 (€213,300) fine on each of the defendants. Five other men have also pleaded guilty for their role in the smuggling operation and are scheduled to be sentenced later. READ MORE The truck was holding 64 migrants from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador at the time. The vehicle had a broken air conditioner and no water, which amounted to suffocating conditions in the Texas summer. Only 11 of those who were in the tractor-truck survived an ordeal that grimly illustrated the risks migrants are willing to take to cross the US border. The migrants had paid the smugglers $12,000 to $15,000 each to be taken across the US border, according to the case's indictment. They were placed in the vehicle in Laredo, a town at the border, and then driven to San Antonio, a three-hour drive away. [ Essex lorry deaths: Members of Irish-Romanian gang jailed for up to 27 years Opens in new window ] As temperatures rose inside the truck, the people inside screamed and banged on the walls. Many eventually passed out. When the truck was found on June 27th, 2022, more than a dozen people were taken to hospital, where five more died. The men had known the air conditioning in the truck was broken, according to prosecutors. They had discovered dozens of the people inside had died when they opened the back of the truck at the end of the three-hour trip. 'Three years to the day after these two smugglers and their co-conspirators left dozens of men, women and children locked in a sweltering tractor-trailer to die in the Texas summer heat, they learned that they will spend the rest of their lives locked away in a federal prison,' said a statement from the US attorney for the western district of Texas, Justin Simmons. Prosecutors said that Orduna-Torres was the leader of a group of men who smuggled people from Mexico and South America between December 2021 and June 2022. He and Gonzales-Ortega shared routes, vehicles, stash houses and transporters to 'consolidate costs, minimise risks and maximise profit', according to a statement from the US justice department. Migrant smuggling to the US, a multibillion-dollar industry, is often run in co-ordination with some of Mexico's most violent cartels. While the number of migrants apprehended at the border has dropped since Donald Trump's second presidency began in January, reports have said people are still being smuggled into the US through methods and routes that are even more dangerous. – Guardian
CBS News
27-06-2025
- CBS News
Smugglers sentenced to decades in prison 3 years after 53 migrants found dead in back of truck in Texas
Two smugglers convicted of federal charges in connection with the deaths of 53 migrants found in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer in Texas in 2022 were sentenced to decades in prison on Friday. Felipe Orduna-Torres, 32, and Armando Gonzales-Ortega, 55, are to be the first of several defendants sentenced in the San Antonio tragedy, which remains the nation's deadliest human smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border. In March, a jury deliberated for only about an hour before convicting the men of being part of a human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in death and injury. Orduna-Torres, who prosecutors described as the leader of the smuggling operation, was given two life sentences and an additional 20 years on a third count to be served consecutively, according to CBS affiliate KENS. Gonzales-Ortega was sentenced to 87.5 years in prison. Prosecutors had described Gonzales-Ortega as Orduna-Torres' top assistant. Both men were also fined $250,000. The 64 immigrants inside the truck had come from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico and had paid between $12,000 and $15,000 each to be smuggled into the United States, according to an indictment in the case. They had made it as far as the Texas border city of Laredo when they were placed into a tractor-trailer with broken air conditioning for a three-hour drive to San Antonio. As the temperature rose inside the trailer, those inside screamed and banged the walls of the trailer for help or tried to claw their way out, investigators said. Most eventually passed out. When the trailer was opened in San Antonio, 48 people were already dead. Another 16 were taken to hospitals, where five more died. The dead included six children and a pregnant woman. Only 11 people inside the vehicle survived. Body bags lie at the scene where a tractor trailer with multiple dead bodies was discovered, Monday, June 27, 2022, in San Antonio. Eric Gay / AP In a news briefing shortly after the incident, San Antonio police chief William McManus described the scene as "tragic beyond words." "I don't understand how anyone could be so callous as to allow it happen and run from the scene," McManus said. Orduna-Torres and Gonzales-Ortega were sentenced exactly three years after the tragedy. Investigators said the Orduna-Torres and Gonzales-Ortega worked with human smuggling operations in Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, and shared routes, guides, stash houses, trucks and trailers. Orduna-Torres provided the address in Laredo where they would be picked up, and Gonzalez-Ortega met them there. Five other men previously pleaded guilty to felony charges in the smuggling case, including the truck driver Homero Zamorano Jr., who was found hiding near the trailer in some bushes. Zamorano faces up to life in prison when sentenced in December. The other defendants are scheduled to be sentenced later this year. The incident is the deadliest among tragedies that have claimed thousands of lives in recent decades as people attempt to cross the U.S. border from Mexico. Ten immigrants died in 2017 after they were trapped inside a truck parked at a Walmart store in San Antonio. In 2003, the bodies of 19 immigrants were found in a sweltering truck southeast of San Antonio.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Yahoo
Smugglers to be sentenced in 53 migrant deaths from 2022 human smuggling tragedy in Texas
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Two smugglers convicted of federal charges in connection with the deaths of 53 migrants found in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer in Texas in 2022 face up to life in prison when they are scheduled to be sentenced Friday. Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzales-Ortega are to be the first of several defendants sentenced in the San Antonio tragedy, which remains the nation's deadliest human smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border. A jury convicted the men in March of being part of a human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in death and injury. Prosecutors described Orduna-Torres as the leader of the smuggling operation inside the U.S. and Gonzales-Ortega as his top assistant. The immigrants had come from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico and had paid between $12,000 and $15,000 each to be smuggled into the United States, according to an indictment in the case. They had made it as far as the Texas border city of Laredo when they were placed into a tractor-trailer with broken air conditioning for a three-hour drive to San Antonio. As the temperature rose inside the trailer, those inside screamed and banged the walls of the trailer for help or tried to claw their way out, investigators said. Most eventually passed out. When the trailer was opened in San Antonio, 48 people were already dead. Another 16 were taken to hospitals, where five more died. The dead included six children and a pregnant woman. Investigators said the Orduna-Torres and Gonzales-Ortega worked with human smuggling operations in Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, and shared routes, guides, stash houses, trucks and trailers. Orduna-Torres provided the address in Laredo where they would be picked up, and Gonzalez-Ortega met them there. Five other men previously pleaded guilty to felony charges in the smuggling case, including the truck driver Homero Zamorano Jr., who was found hiding near the trailer in some bushes. Zamorano faces up to life in prison when sentenced in December. The other defendants are scheduled to be sentenced later this year. The incident is the deadliest among tragedies that have claimed thousands of lives in recent decades as people attempt to cross the U.S. border from Mexico. Ten immigrants died in 2017 after they were trapped inside a truck parked at a Walmart store in San Antonio. In 2003, the bodies of 19 immigrants were found in a sweltering truck southeast of San Antonio.
The Independent
27-06-2025
- The Independent
Smugglers to be sentenced in 53 migrant deaths from 2022 human smuggling tragedy in Texas
Two smugglers convicted of federal charges in connection with the deaths of 53 migrants found in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer in Texas in 2022 face up to life in prison when they are scheduled to be sentenced Friday. Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzales-Ortega are to be the first of several defendants sentenced in the San Antonio tragedy, which remains the nation's deadliest human smuggling attempt across the U.S.- Mexico border. A jury convicted the men in March of being part of a human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in death and injury. Prosecutors described Orduna-Torres as the leader of the smuggling operation inside the U.S. and Gonzales-Ortega as his top assistant. The immigrants had come from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico and had paid between $12,000 and $15,000 each to be smuggled into the United States, according to an indictment in the case. They had made it as far as the Texas border city of Laredo when they were placed into a tractor-trailer with broken air conditioning for a three-hour drive to San Antonio. As the temperature rose inside the trailer, those inside screamed and banged the walls of the trailer for help or tried to claw their way out, investigators said. Most eventually passed out. When the trailer was opened in San Antonio, 48 people were already dead. Another 16 were taken to hospitals, where five more died. The dead included six children and a pregnant woman. Investigators said the Orduna-Torres and Gonzales-Ortega worked with human smuggling operations in Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, and shared routes, guides, stash houses, trucks and trailers. Orduna-Torres provided the address in Laredo where they would be picked up, and Gonzalez-Ortega met them there. Five other men previously pleaded guilty to felony charges in the smuggling case, including the truck driver Homero Zamorano Jr., who was found hiding near the trailer in some bushes. Zamorano faces up to life in prison when sentenced in December. The other defendants are scheduled to be sentenced later this year. The incident is the deadliest among tragedies that have claimed thousands of lives in recent decades as people attempt to cross the U.S. border from Mexico. Ten immigrants died in 2017 after they were trapped inside a truck parked at a Walmart store in San Antonio. In 2003, the bodies of 19 immigrants were found in a sweltering truck southeast of San Antonio.
