A Guatemalan man pleaded guilty Thursday for his role in a 2022 mass casualty event that killed 53 migrants and injured 11 others.
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Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring an alien into the United States resulting in death; aiding and abetting bringing an alien into the United States resulting in death; and aiding and abetting bringing an alien into the United States resulting in serious bodily injury. His sentencing date is scheduled for Oct. 8, and he’s facing up to life in prison.
The backstory:
According to court documents, Homeland Security responded to the scene involving a tractor trailer and 64 people suspected of entering the US illegally on June 27, 2022. San Antonio police officers told Homeland Security that they arrived at the scene after receiving 911 calls about the trailer.
Officers found multiple people, some still inside the trailer and some on the ground and in nearby brush, many of them dead and some incapacitated, court documents say.
Forty-eight people died at the scene, another five later died after being taken to area hospitals. Eleven others were injured. Among those who died were six children and a pregnant woman.
Court documents state two of Miranda-Orozco’s clients, both migrants from Guatemala, died in the incident. He admitted to arranging for their transportation and accommodations throughout Guatemala, Mexico and the United States.
What they’re saying:
“Miranda-Orozco was an important organizer in a complex alien smuggling organization that prioritized profits and endangered people,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This case highlights that immigration offenses and alien smuggling have far-reaching impacts. Here, 53 people lost their lives. Targeting those involved in these dangerous crimes and aggressively prosecuting them remains one of the highest priorities of the Department. The Criminal Division and our partners will continue to ensure border security, the orderly administration of our immigration laws, and the protection provided by those laws.”
Miranda-Orozco was arrested in Guatemala in August 2024 and extradited to the United States in March 2025.
“Together, we have ensured that Orozco will face justice for the unimaginable pain and suffering he inflicted on so many people in the name of greed,” said Executive Associate Director John Condon of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations. “Our efforts will undoubtedly prevent further loss of life at the hands of this criminal and will help ensure vulnerable individuals are protected from the dangers of human smuggling.”
Dig deeper:
At least seven others have pleaded guilty for their roles in the 2022 incident.
Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzalez-Ortega were found guilty in March. Gonzales-Ortega was sentenced to 83 years and Orduna-Torres was sentenced to life in prison.
Five men previously pleaded guilty to felony charges in the case, including the truck driver Homero Zamorano Jr., who was found hiding near the trailer and was arrested at the scene. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The other four who have previously pleaded guilty are Christian Martinez of Palestine, TX, Luis Alberto Rivera-Leal, Riley Covarrubias-Ponce and Juan Francisco D’Luna Bilbao.
They all pleaded guilty to four counts each of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death; conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy; transportation of illegal aliens resulting in death; and transportation of illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy.
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