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Two men convicted in March for the smuggling deaths of 53 immigrants, including six children, were sentenced in federal court in San Antonio on Friday.
Friday marked three years since the immigrants were left in a sweltering tractor-trailer on San Antonio's southwest side. It was the deadliest human smuggling incident in modern U.S. history.
U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia sentenced Felipe Orduña-Torres to two life sentences and Armando Gonzales-Ortega to more than 80 years in prison. Orduña-Torres was described by prosecutors as the leader of the smuggling operation and Gonzales-Ortega was his assistant.
“This was a major milestone in this case, with these individuals effectively going away for the rest of their lives. That is justice in this case," said Justin Simmons, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas.
"While the sentences today will never completely fill the void that these men carved into the hearts of these victims' families, I hope it at least helps them a little bit with the healing process," Simmons said. "I hope they can find solace, ultimately, in the fact that these men will never breathe free air again."
Several other men connected to the case have pleaded guilty to felony charges.
"Please know that the United States Government will work to hold everyone responsible for the deaths of these 53 people to account, and we will do everything we can to make sure tragedies like this don't happen again," Simmons said.
He added that the prosecution of this case included a "whole of government" approach over several years to combatting Mexican drug cartels who profit from human smuggling.
The U.S. Attorney's Office estimates that the smuggling cell responsible for these deaths moved over 1,100 people across the border between November of 2021 and June of 2022, charging $12,000 per person and making more than $13 million in revenue over that period.
"So my message to those who are south of the border and may be considering coming across in a manner similar to this, cartels do not care about you. They do not care about your hopes and dreams. They do not care about your desire for a better life. They care about money," he said.
Dozens of men, women and children from Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and other nations were found trapped in the tractor-trailer on Quintana Road on June 27, 2022.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said at the time that a worker at a nearby facility heard a person crying for help and found the trailer with numerous dead inside.
San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said they were hot to the touch and suffering from heat exhaustion. “No signs of water in the vehicle, it was a refrigerated tractor-trailer, but there was no visible working AC unit on that rig,” he added. Temperatures in San Antonio at the time regularly exceeded 100 degrees.
San Antonio has seen migrant smuggling attempts unravel many times over the past decade, but this was especially egregious, said San Antonio immigration attorney Jonathan Ryan.
“It remains the largest single casualty event of this type in Texas and potentially in the United States — that is, in terms of those that have been discovered,” said Ryan.
The case showed a vast international network of human smuggling crossing multiple countries.
"We're going to see over this next summer likely more incidents such as this," Ryan added, "as people undertake more and more dangerous ways to enter the United States."
After the verdict in March, federal prosecutor Erich Fuchs showed images from inside the stifling tractor trailer, showing claw marks: “Claw marks from when they were desperately clawing at the sides trying to get out. You can see that insulation, the scraps of it — how it is fresh — right below the claw marks."
Homero Zamorano, the driver, abandoned the migrants — 66 in total. Zamorano pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport aliens. He faces life in prison and is also scheduled for sentencing.
The jury in March deliberated for two and a half hours before handing down the guilty verdicts. The men were found guilty on three federal counts each: Conspiracy to Transport Aliens Resulting in Death or Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury Placing Lives in Jeopardy; Transportation of Illegal Alien Resulting in death; and Transportation of Illegal Aliens resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and Placing Lives in Jeopardy.
A memorial of painted crosses was erected alongside Quintana Road to remember the 53 lives lost, next to a mural that listed the victims' names.
Since the incident, dozens more people have been found trapped in similar predicaments — tractor-trailers, train cars or other vehicles — and almost all also dealing with severe and life-threatening heat.
