Two men found guilty in human smuggling scheme that left over 50 dead

A federal jury convicted Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzalez-Ortega for a 2022 human smuggling scheme that killed 53 people and injured 11 more, according to a Tuesday statement from the Department of Justice. Authorities extradited a third man out of Guatemala, Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco, to face judgment for his alleged involvement, the statement added.

How did so many people die during a smuggling operation? The men charged about 66 migrants at least $12,000 to be smuggled across the U.S. 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.

Once in San Antonio, a local worker stumbled across the abandoned truck and found 48 people dead inside, according to the DOJ and WORLD’s previous reporting. Five more migrants died while being transported to the hospital. The final death toll included a pregnant woman and six children, the DOJ said. Both Orduna-Torres and Gonzalez-Ortega were convicted on counts of transportation of illegal aliens resulting in death or serious bodily injury, and placing lives in jeopardy. Federal prosecutors will continue seeking accountability from those who illegally value profit over human life, said Margaret Leachman, acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas.