Smugglers to serve lives in prison for deaths of 53 migrants

A federal judge in Texas sentenced Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzalez-Ortega to decades in prison for a human smuggling scheme that led dozens to perish in a sweltering semitrailer. The pair ran a human smuggling operation, sneaking migrants into the country from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico for about 6 months, according to a Friday statement from the Department of Justice. They were convicted in March on charges related to the deaths of 47 adults and six children killed during the smuggling operation.

U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia intentionally scheduled the Friday sentencing to coincide with the three year anniversary of the tragedy, the DOJ noted. Orduna-Torres, 30, received life in prison, while Gonzales-Ortega, 55, received over 80 years in prison, according to the DOJ. These men will spend the rest of their lives behind bars for their cruel choice to profit off of human suffering, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in the Friday statement. Each of the men received a $250,000 fine, with Orduna-Torres specifically ordered to forfeit a semitractor-trailer, a 2015 Cadillac Escalade; and one 2017 Ford F-350 Super Duty Truck.

Five other defendants pleaded guilty to charges for their involvement in the smuggling scheme and will be sentenced throughout November and December.

How did so many people die during a smuggling operation? The men charged about 66 migrants at least $12,000 each to be smuggled across the southern border into Texas in June 2022, according to court filings. The migrants were transported in a tractor-trailer without air-conditioning, causing dozens of migrants to die of heat stroke before reaching San Antonio. Court records showed migrants called for help and clawed at the walls attempting to escape. Evidence showed that Orduna-Torres and several others charged in the scheme were aware that the trailer’s AC unit was not working for the migrants during the fatal operation, according to the DOJ. 

Dig deeper: Read my report on the pair’s conviction in March for more background on the case.