2 Indicted In Texas Migrant Smuggling Operation That Left 53 Dead

SAN ANTONIO, TX — Two people were indicted Wednesday in connection with the smuggling operation that left 53 migrants dead after dozens were found in a hot, abandoned semitruck in Texas last month, according to court records.

Federal grand juries returned indictments for Homero Zamorano Jr., 46, of Pasadena, Texas, and Christian Martinez, 28, of Palestine, Texas, in San Antonio. Each are charged with conspiracy to transport undocumented migrants resulting in death, transportation of undocumented migrants resulting in death, conspiracy to transport undocumented migrants resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy, and transportation of undocumented migrants resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy.

Both are in federal custody without bond, court documents show.

Two Mexican nationals, Juan Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao and Juan Claudio D'Luna-Mendez, were previously charged with possession of a weapon by an alien illegally in the United States after authorities surveilled a house in San Antonio to which the truck was registered.

Authorities found the tractor trailer on June 27 near Quintana Road in San Antonio, where dozens of migrants had been trapped after the air conditioning in the refrigerated unit had stopped working. The incident resulted in the deaths of 50 adults and three children, according to court documents.

Police arrested Zamorano at the site where the 18-wheeler was found after comparing him to surveillance footage of the driver of the truck from a port of entry. Phone records revealed text messages from Martinez to Zamorano concerning the smuggling operation, according to court documents.

If convicted on the charges for conspiracy to transport and transporting undocumented migrants resulting in death, Zamorano and Martinez could face the death penalty. If the Attorney General intends to pursue the death penalty, notice must be filed before the trial, according to a news release.

The incident was the deadliest tragedy involving smuggling migrants across the border from Mexico. The truck had been packed with 67 people, and the dead included 27 from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador, said Francisco Garduño, chief of Mexico’s National Immigration Institute.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.