Officials in Guatemala have arrested a man who U.S. investigators say played a pivotal role in the smuggling of dozens of migrants who died in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer in Texas. Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez posted a video on X with images of a coordinated police operation that netted Rigoberto Ramón Miranda Orozco, head of the “Los Orozcos” organization. U.S. prosecutors unsealed an indictment claiming he helped secure payments and worked with others to harbor and transport the migrants found in the back of a truck in 2022. Some 53 migrants died after enduring extreme temperatures for hours. It was the deadliest incident of its kind on U.S. soil. U.S. authorities are seeking Miranda Orozco’s extradition, reports the Washington Post.
“The message is we will pursue you, whether you’re hiding here in the United States or hiding elsewhere," said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza, in Texas on Thursday. "We will use all our resources to seek you out." The deaths highlighted the devastating human toll of organized criminal smuggling during a time of record migration across the U.S.-Mexico border. Police in San Antonio were alerted after a nearby worker heard cries for help coming from inside the tractor-trailer stopped on an isolated strip of road near Texas’s busiest trucking corridor. Inside, they found dozens of people who were unconscious and hot to the touch. After the deaths, Guatemalan investigators interviewed families of the victims, who provided information about the smugglers. Guatemalan authorities then began to tap their phones, gaining reams of intelligence to build prosecutions.
Miranda Orozco was charged with six counts related to a conspiracy to smuggle people across the border illegally. Six others in Guatemala were arrested as part of the dismantling of the smuggling ring.
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