A suspect arrested in Guatemala has been charged with helping coordinate the 2022 smuggling attempt that ended in the deaths of 53 migrants in Texas, the Justice Department announced Thursday, marking what U.S. officials called a significant expansion of their investigation into the horrific discovery inside an on a back road.
U.S. authorities they will seek the extradition of Rigoberto Román Miranda Orozco, who is charged with six counts of migrant smuggling resulting in death or serious injury in the deadliest human smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border. Authorities alleged he can be connected to four Guatemalan migrants in the trailer, three of whom died, and faces up to life in prison if convicted.
“We will pursue you, whether you are hiding in the United States or you’re hiding elsewhere,†U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza said at a news conference in San Antonio.
Miranda Orozco is the first person arrested outside of the country to face charges in the U.S. in connection with the investigation. Esparza said seven people have been arrested in the U.S. Guatemalan officials of Miranda Orozco and six more people accused of helping smuggle the migrants Wednesday. Of those, only Miranda Orozco faces extradition to the U.S. and the others will be tried in Guatemala, Esparza said.
Carlos Merida, a lawyer for Miranda Orozco in Guatemala, said his client did not accept the charges, instead saying he was a regular citizen “who was a migrant in the north (U.S.) for 15 years.â€
Those who include Homero Zamorano Jr., who authorities say drove the truck, and Christian Martinez. Both are from Texas and were the migrants were found. Martinez has since pleaded guilty to smuggling-related charges, while Zamorano pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
Police and other first responders work the scene where officials say dozens of people have been found dead and multiple others were taken to hospitals with heat-related illnesses after a tractor-trailer containing suspected migrants was found on June 27, 2022, in San Antonio. (Eric Gay / The Associated Press)
Four Mexican nationals were also arrested in 2023.
Authorities say the men were aware that the trailer’s air-conditioning unit was malfunctioning and would not blow cool air to the migrants trapped inside during the sweltering, three-hour ride from the border city of Laredo to San Antonio. Temperatures reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) while migrants screamed and banged the walls of the trailer for help or tried to claw their way out, investigators said.
When the trailer was opened in San Antonio, . Another 16 were taken to hospitals, where five more died. The dead included 27 people from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador. President Joe Biden called the tragedy "horrifying and heartbreaking.â€
Authorities allege that the men worked with human smuggling operations in Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, and shared routes, guides, stash houses, trucks and trailers, some of which were stored at a private parking lot in San Antonio.
Migrants paid the organization up to $15,000 each to be taken across the border. The fee would cover up to three attempts to get into the country.
Guatemalan officials accuse the group of housing and transferring hundreds of migrants to the United States over several years.
Guatemala Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez told The Associated Press the arrests were made after 13 raids in three of the country’s departments. Police also seized vehicles and cash and rescued other migrants during the operations, Guatemalan officials said in a statement.
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Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas, and Perez from Guatemala City.
Amid new polling indicating most Canadians support boosting Old Age Security (OAS) benefits by 10 per cent for seniors aged 65 to 74, a former Liberal finance minister and former Bank of Canada governor are warning the government not to pursue the policy change.
Defence Minister Bill Blair says Israel has the right to defend itself in 'a calibrated and proportional way' following Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on Tuesday.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles are reviewing new evidence in the case of the Menendez brothers, who were convicted of killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago, the city's district attorney said Thursday.
Three former Memphis officers were convicted Thursday of charges of witness tampering in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, and two were acquitted of federal civil rights violations in a death that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing.
A Manitoba man convicted of murder 50 years ago has been acquitted. Clarence Woodhouse was found guilty in 1974 of fatally beating and stabbing a restaurant worker in downtown Winnipeg.
An Ontario child has died after coming in contact with a rabid bat, a health official confirmed on Wednesday.
Melania Trump revealed her support for abortion rights Thursday ahead of the release of her upcoming memoir, exposing a stark contrast with her husband, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, on the crucial election issue.
When an Ontario doctor refused to sign off on a mammogram for 38-year-old Sidra Lone, the mother of four says she was left with no choice but to lie.
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Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard has requested bail as he appeals his sexual assault convictions in Toronto and the prison sentence he received last month.
A man charged with first-degree murder in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., doesn't have to sit in the prisoner's box when his trial begins next month, a judge with the Superior Court of Justice has ruled.
The River East Transcona School Division has filed a lawsuit against the City of Winnipeg regarding a fire at one of its schools in March 2022.
A Manitoba man convicted of murder 50 years ago has been acquitted. Clarence Woodhouse was found guilty in 1974 of fatally beating and stabbing a restaurant worker in downtown Winnipeg.
When an Ontario doctor refused to sign off on a mammogram for 38-year-old Sidra Lone, the mother of four says she was left with no choice but to lie.
Three former Memphis officers were convicted Thursday of charges of witness tampering in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, and two were acquitted of federal civil rights violations in a death that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing.
A TikTok content creator was arrested in Dallas this week and is facing a second-degree murder charge in the death of a Baton Rouge counsellor and life coach whose body was found on the side of a Louisiana highway over the weekend, law enforcement officials said Thursday.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles are reviewing new evidence in the case of the Menendez brothers, who were convicted of killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago, the city's district attorney said Thursday.
The Israeli military on Thursday warned people to evacuate a city and other communities in southern Lebanon that are north of a UN-declared buffer zone, signalling that it may widen a ground operation launched earlier this week against the Hezbollah militant group.
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had agreed to a 21-day ceasefire just days before he was assassinated by Israel.
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Defence Minister Bill Blair says Israel has the right to defend itself in 'a calibrated and proportional way' following Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on Tuesday.
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A hacking group tied to Russian intelligence tried to worm its way into the systems of dozens of western think tanks, journalists and former military and intelligence officials, Microsoft and U.S. authorities said Thursday.
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Rapper Eminem announced that his daughter Hailie Jade, 28, is expecting her first child via a new music video on Thursday for his song 'Temporary,' featuring Skylar Grey.
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The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.
Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north
What does New Westminster's təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.
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An Ontario child has died after coming in contact with a rabid bat, a health official confirmed on Wednesday.
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One person is dead after a floatplane carrying three people crashed Wednesday evening in a remote inlet on British Columbia's central coast.
The City of Kamloops says three pit bulls involved in a deadly attack on another dog last month tested positive for methamphetamine and cocaine and it wants the animals put down.
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A Lethbridge man is facing several charges after a traffic stop led to the seizure of drugs and weapons.
A man charged with first-degree murder in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., doesn't have to sit in the prisoner's box when his trial begins next month, a judge with the Superior Court of Justice has ruled.
After receiving complaints about off-road vehicles, police in Greater Sudbury laid more than a dozen charges in a recent safety blitz.
Aiming to bolster public trust and accountability – and help with investigations -- police in Sault Ste. Marie have equipped their vehicles with cameras.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
A soccer game in England on Tuesday night drove a spike in online traffic across the Atlantic to a website launched by the Newfoundland and Labrador government.
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