The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Tuesday that U.S. authorities have arrested four Mexicans on suspicion of being involved in a smuggling incident that has led to the deaths of 53 migrants.
In June 2022, authorities found an abandoned tractor trailer full of immigrants (53 of whom died) in San Antonio, Texas. Riley Covarrubias Ponce, aka Lili, aka Riley, 30 years old. Felipe Orduna Torres, aka Cholo, aka Chuekto / Chuekito, aka Black, 28 years old. Luis Alberto Rivera-Real, aka Cowboy, 37 years old. and Armando Gonzalez Ortega, aka El Don, aka Don Gon, 53, will be charged with smuggling adult and minor illegal immigrants into the United States from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico during December 2021. He was indicted for allegedly serving in a human smuggling ring. And in June 2022, according to to DHS. (Related: Exclusive: A Night at the Border in ‘Operation Lone Star’, Texas)
The defendants have been separately charged with multiple counts of illegal immigrant transport death and illegal immigration serious injury, which could carry a life sentence, according to the DHS. .
Mexican authorities watch migrants being transported to the United States disembark from a tractor trailer at a checkpoint in Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico, January 18, 2023.Reuters/Jacob Garcia
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement about the arrests that “smugglers prey on immigrants’ hopes of a better life, but their only priority is profit.” “Sadly, 53 people who endured hours of unimaginable brutality in a tractor-trailer in Texas lost their lives in this heartless scheme. Risking people’s lives for profit. Smugglers who expose and break our laws can’t hide long.We will find you and bring you to justice.”
Days before the tragedy, Covarrubias Ponce and Orduna Torres allegedly exchanged names for migrants who were to be transported in a tractor-trailer, according to the DHS. A statement Tuesday said some of those charged had found the truck’s air conditioner not working, and a statement Tuesday said they had obtained an abandoned vehicle, handed it over to the driver, and were charged in July 2022. It is said that
Orduna Torres is also suspected of giving the driver a pick-up location in Laredo, Texas, where he picked up at least 66 illegal immigrants, including eight children and a pregnant woman, according to the DHS. Martinez, Covarrubias-Ponce, Orduna-Torres, Rivera-Real and Gonzalez-Ortega then led the drivers and tracked their progress.
According to DHS, the alleged smugglers have sophisticated routes, guides, stashes, trucks and trailers, some of which are stored in San Antonio parking lots, to run their lucrative smuggling business. It is said that it was done.
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