In San Antonio, two men were found guilty of a smuggling operation that led to the deaths of 53 immigrants in a scorching tractor-trailer without air conditioning. This 2022 incident marked the deadliest smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border. After a two-week trial, a federal jury in San Antonio took about an hour to convict Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzales-Ortega for their roles in the conspiracy, which resulted in both fatalities and injuries. They could face life imprisonment, with sentencing set for June 27.
The victims, who came from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, had paid between $12,000 and $15,000 each to be smuggled into the U.S. They reached the Texas border city of Laredo before being loaded into a trailer with malfunctioning air conditioning for a three-hour journey to San Antonio. As temperatures soared inside, the occupants screamed, banged on the walls, and tried to escape, investigators reported. Most lost consciousness, and when the trailer was finally opened, 48 were already dead. Sixteen survivors were hospitalized, but five later died, including six children and a pregnant woman.
Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman stated that the defendants were aware of the faulty air conditioning but ignored the risks. Orduna-Torres led the smuggling operation within the U.S., with Gonzales-Ortega as his main accomplice. Previously, five other men, including truck driver Homero Zamorano Jr., pleaded guilty to related charges. Zamorano was discovered hiding near the trailer and could also face life imprisonment. The others, Christian Martinez, Luis Alberto Rivera-Leal, Riley Covarrubias-Ponce, and Juan Francisco D’Luna Bilbao, are awaiting sentencing. Another suspect remains at large, while several individuals face charges in Mexico and Guatemala.
This tragedy is the most severe among numerous fatal incidents involving border crossings from Mexico. In 2017, ten immigrants died in a truck parked at a San Antonio Walmart, and in 2003, 19 bodies were found in a truck southeast of the city.