Officials announced Wednesday that all but six of 53 migrants who were found dead or in distress in a Texas tractor-trailer last week have been identified.
According to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office, 22 of those who died were from Mexico while 19 were from Guatemala and six from Honduras.
They were found June 27 in an abandoned trailer on a backroad near San Antonio. Wednesday’s hearing was scheduled for the detention hearing of the truck driver.
According to the medical examiner’s offices, the dead included two Mexican 16-year olds and one and a half-year-old respectively from Guatemala and Mexico. The teens were previously identified as cousins by relatives in Guatemala: Pascual Melvin Guachiac, 13 years old, and Juan Wilmer Tulul Tepaz, 14 years old.
Family members in Honduras identified Alejandro Miguel Andino Caballero (23 years old) and Margie Tamara Paz Grjeda (24) as the victims.
A 20-year old Guatemalan woman, who survived the journey, said that smugglers covered the trailer’s floors with powdered chicken bouillon. This was apparently to throw out any dogs at the checkpoint.
When it was discovered, the truck carried 73 people. Four people, including the driver, were arrested by federal prosecutors in connection to the discovery of the truck.
The Justice Department stated last week that two men could be sentenced to death for their involvement in the incident.
Homero Zamorano, a Texas native, was charged with criminal offenses in connection to his alleged involvement the deadly smuggling campaign. According to the Justice Department, the Pasadena resident, 45, could face life imprisonment or death penalty if convicted.
Federal law enforcement officers executed a warrant for Christian Martinez’s cell phone to search it. According to the DOJ, investigators discovered communications between Martinez and Martinez that discussed the smuggling plot.
Craig Larrabee was a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations who was in charge of investigating the incident. He called it “eye-opening” as well as “horrific” during an interview.
He told CBS News that this was the most serious human smuggling incident in American history.
Larrabee stated that his agency has seen an increase in transnational smuggling networks that use tractor-trailers for large numbers of migrants who have illegally entered the country.
He said, “You have organizations who simply don’t care about the safety and well-being of the people they’re transporting.” It’s a commodity.
