Seven Guatemalans Arrested in Connection with 2022 Migrant Tragedy
Guatemalan police announced the arrest of seven people on Wednesday, all accused of smuggling 53 migrants from Mexico and Central America who tragically died of asphyxiation in 2022 after being abandoned in a tractor trailer in the sweltering summer heat of Texas, a CBS News/The Associated Press report says.
The incident is considered one of the deadliest tragedies involving migrants smuggled across the US border from Mexico. Eight children were among the deceased.
Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez said that the arrests were made during the 13 raids across three departments in Guatemala. Among those detained was Rigoberto Román Miranda Orozco, who is believed to be the ringleader of the smuggling operation and faces extradition requests from the United States.
When authorities opened the trailer in San Antonio, they found 48 migrants already deceased. An additional 16 individuals were transported to hospitals, but five succumbed to their injuries. The deceased migrants included 27 from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala, and two from El Salvador.
Investigators believe that the arrested had been part of human smuggling operations that extended across Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, using shared routes, guides, stash houses, trucks, and trailers. Some of these vehicles were reportedly stored in a private parking lot in San Antonio.
Migrants reportedly paid the organization fees of up to $15,000 each for the perilous journey across the border, with costs covering up to three attempts to enter the United States.
Orozco was apprehended in the Guatemalan department of San Marcos, located near the Mexican border, while the other arrests took place in the departments of Huehuetenango and Jalapa. The police have identified the smuggling group as “Los Orozcos,” named after the family members involved, many of whom share that surname.
“Said organization illegally housed and transferred hundreds of migrants of different nationalities to the United States, collecting millions of quetzales (the national currency) through several years of operation,” the Guatemalan government said.
