A federal jury on Tuesday found two men guilty for their role in a 2022 tractor-trailer human smuggling incident in San Antonio, Texas, that led to the death of 53 illegal immigrants and injury of 11 others.
Felipe Orduna-Torres, 30, and Armando Gonzalez-Ortega, 55, were convicted of conspiring with an alien smuggling organization that transported 66 migrants across the U.S.–Mexico border on June 27, 2022, resulting in deaths, bodily injuries, and placing lives in jeopardy.
The illegal immigrants—originated from Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras—paid between $12,000 and $15,000 for the journey that stopped in San Antonio, Texas, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
During the three-hour drive, the illegal immigrants were crammed into a trailer without a functioning air conditioner. The sweltering heat caused some of them to lose consciousness, while others clawed at the walls trying to escape the trailer, the DOJ stated, citing evidence presented at the trial….