A Texas truck driver, Homero Zamorano Jr., has pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport migrants resulting in death, causing serious bodily injury, and placing lives in jeopardy. The 48-year-old is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Zamorano was charged in relation to the 2022 tragedy in which 53 migrants died after being transported in a sweltering tractor-trailer with no air conditioning. The incident occurred on June 27, 2022, when Zamorano drove the truck, with 67 people on board, from the border city of Laredo to San Antonio.
Temperatures reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the three-hour ride, and migrants were found to have paid up to $15,000 each to be taken across the U.S. border. The truck had been packed with people, including 27 from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala, and two from El Salvador.
Zamorano is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24. His attorney, Mark Stevens, declined to comment on the case.
The incident is the deadliest among tragedies that have claimed thousands of lives in recent decades as people attempt to cross the U.S. border from Mexico. It also highlights the harsh conditions faced by migrants as they attempt to reach the U.S., often at the hands of smugglers who traffic them across the border.
Four Mexican nationals and a suspect in Guatemala have also been arrested and charged in connection with the incident. The suspect, Rigoberto Román Miranda Orozco, faces up to life in prison if convicted.