Historic sentence handed down to traffickers in Texas for killing 53 migrants in a trailer

Two of the main perpetrators of the deadliest migrant smuggling case in U.S. history were sentenced this Friday, June 27, exactly three years after the tragedy in San Antonio, Texas.

The incident claimed the lives of 53 people , including six minors, after they were abandoned in an unventilated trailer in the extreme summer heat.

Federal Judge Orlando Garcia of the Western District of Texas sentenced Felipe Orduna-Torres to life in prison and Armando Gonzales-Ortega to 83 years in prison, in addition to imposing fines of $250,000 on each.

Both were found guilty in March of illegally transporting migrants, causing the deaths of dozens and endangering the lives of others. Attorney General Pamela Bondi called the sentences "a powerful message" against human trafficking networks.

Orduna-Torres, known as “Cholo,” and Gonzales-Ortega, known as “Don Gon,” led an organization that operated a human smuggling network from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico to the United States between December 2021 and June 2022.

That day, authorities found an abandoned trailer on a secondary road in San Antonio. Inside were dozens of lifeless bodies, victims of hyperthermia and extreme dehydration.

The trailer used in the case was loaded in Laredo and had a faulty refrigeration system. There were 64 migrants inside, including eight minors and a pregnant woman. By the time the vehicle arrived in San Antonio after a three-hour trip, 48 people had already died.

High temperatures, combined with a lack of ventilation and water, caused the deaths of 47 adults and six minors, including migrants from Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. It is considered the deadliest instance of human trafficking in the country's history.