Latest news with #migrantDeaths
New York Times
27-06-2025
- New York Times
Two Men Are Sentenced in Smuggling Deaths of 53 Migrants in Texas
Two men were sentenced on Friday for their roles in the deaths of 53 undocumented migrants, six of whom were children, in what prosecutors said was one of the deadliest migrant smuggling cases in recent years along the country's southern border. The defendants, Armando Gonzales-Ortega, 55, and Felipe Orduna-Torres, 30, were found guilty in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in March of conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants resulting in death and related charges. Mr. Orduna-Torres was sentenced on Friday to life in prison and Mr. Gonzales-Ortega was sentenced to 83 years in prison. Three years ago to the day — June 27, 2022 — a worker for a paving company followed the sounds of screaming along a road on the outskirts of San Antonio and found a trailer full of migrants, many of whom were lifeless and some gasping for air. The tractor-trailer was abandoned in a debris-filled area between train tracks and salvage yards on a day when the temperature reached more than 100 degrees. The trailer did not have air-conditioning and migrants tried to claw their way out. Those who died were 'essentially cooking alive,' prosecutors said. Eleven people survived. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Arab News
27-06-2025
- Arab News
Two sentenced in Texas for role in deaths of 53 migrants
Felipe Orduna-Torres, 30, headed a network that brought adults and children from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico into the USDistrict Judge Orlando Garcia of the Western District of Texas sentenced Orduna-Torres to life in prisonHOUSTON: The leader of a human smuggling ring convicted of involvement in the deaths of 53 migrants in a sweltering truck in Texas in 2022 was sentenced to life in prison on Orduna-Torres, 30, headed a network that brought adults and children from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico into the United States between December 2021 and June 2022, according to was convicted in March of transporting aliens within the United States resulting in death, causing serious bodily injury, and placing lives in Judge Orlando Garcia of the Western District of Texas sentenced Orduna-Torres to life in prison on Friday and a $250,000 fine, the Justice Department said in a convicted member of the smuggling ring, Armando Gonzales-Ortega, 55, was sentenced to 83 years in prison for his involvement in the deaths of the 53 migrants.'These criminals will spend the rest of their lives in prison because of their cruel choice to profit off of human suffering,' Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. 'Today's sentences are a powerful message to human smugglers everywhere: we will not rest until you are behind bars.'Five other defendants have pleaded guilty to their roles in the fatal smuggling operation and are to be sentenced later this alleged member of the smuggling ring, Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco, 48, was extradited to the United States from Guatemala and is scheduled to go on trial in to the US authorities, the smugglers charged $12,000 to $15,000 per person to bring the migrants, who mostly hailed from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, into the United least 64 migrants including eight children and a pregnant woman were loaded into a 53-foot (16-meter) tractor-trailer on or around June 27, 2022 to be moved across the US-Mexico trailer's air conditioning was not working properly and the temperature inside the truck soared as it drove north to San people were dead when the trailer reached San Antonio and five more died later in hospital. Six children and the pregnant woman were among the dead.
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.
