SAN ANTONIO — Four new suspects have been charged in connection with the deaths of 53 migrants abandoned in an overheated semitruck one year ago, the deadliest human-smuggling event in U.S. history. This brings the total suspects charged in the case to eight.
Federal investigators said Tuesday that Riley Covarrubias-Ponce, 30; Felipe Orduna-Torres, 28; Luis Alberto Rivera-Leal, 37; and Armando Gonzales-Ortega, 53, were arrested and charged this week in connection with the crime. They are accused of planning "the retrieval of an empty tractor-trailer and its corresponding handoff" to the alleged driver.
53 migrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and other countries died of heat-related illness when they were abandoned in southwest San Antonio, inside the semitruck they were traveling in—cramped together with no air conditioning or water. They victims were as young as 13 and as old as 55. Among the 53 were more than a dozen women.
The indictment naming the four new suspects allege they worked together to transport migrants, sharing routes, guides, stash houses, trucks, trailers and transporters in order to save money and minimize risk. The indictment also alleges that the suspects knew the air-conditioning inside the truck was malfunctioning and was not blowing cold air to the migrants.
They are facing multiple charges, including conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death, conspiracy to transport of illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy, transportation of illegal aliens resulting in death, and transportation of illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy.
If convicted, they each face up to life in prison.
“The allegations in the indictment are horrifying,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “Dozens of desperate, vulnerable men, women and children put their trust in smugglers who abandoned them in a locked trailer to perish in the merciless south Texas summer."
KENS 5 previously reported Homero Zamorano Jr., a Brownsville resident, was the alleged driver and was arrested in July of 2022. Christian Martinez, also of Texas, was charged with smuggling. Additionally, two Mexican men residing in the country illegally were arrested after police found the semitruck was registered to a home on Arnold Drive in north San Antonio, according to arrest documents. Juan Claudio D'Luna-Mendez and Juan Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao were charged with being in possession of a firearm while in the country illegally.
According to a motion unsealing the indictment against the four men, a fifth defendant's name was withheld, although its unclear why.
US Attorney Esparza said during the press conference that Zamorano Jr. and Martinez are scheduled to go on trial in September.
Three of the suspects named today were arraigned on Monday afternoon and one will be arraigned tomorrow at 3:00 pm, Esparza said.
A makeshift memorial stands on Quintana Road, in front of the bustling trains and tall weeds, stands a makeshift memorial where the 53 people, with hope for a life in the United States, died in the suffocating heat of a trailer.
The Department of Homeland Security is leading the investigation, aided by several other agencies, including the Bexar County's Sheriff's Office and San Antonio Police Department.
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