U.S. extraditing Guatemalan accused of recruiting victims killed in largest human smuggling tragedy

by Raquel Torres
August 22, 2024



Law enforcement officers investigate the area in Southwest San Antonio on June 27, 2022, where 53 people perished after traveling in a sweltering tractor-trailer. Credit: Nick Wagner / San Antonio Report

San Antonio officials investigating the largest deadly human smuggling tragedy that left 53 migrants dead in 2022 on Thursday announced that the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and Guatemalan law enforcement arrested seven suspects allegedly involved in recruiting people for smugglers in Guatemala.

These arrests come two years after the tragedy on the city’s South Side and after the city built a memorial to honor the migrants. Seven others have already been arrested. Four of them have pleaded guilty and three are set for trial on Oct. 21.

According to court documents, the human smugglers were aware the trailer’s air-conditioning unit didn’t work throughout the three-hour ride from Laredo to San Antonio.

More:
https://sanantonioreport.org/extradition-Guatemala-deadly-human-smuggling-2022-tractor-trailer-san-antonio/