Federal prosecutors have charged three more people in connection with a human smuggling operation that left seven migrants dead in South Texas earlier this year, bringing the total number of defendants to 14.
A federal grand jury in the Western District of Texas returned a superseding indictment Monday, expanding the case against an alleged smuggling organization accused of using commercial freight trains to transport migrants into the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The original indictment, filed in July, charged 11 people with conspiracy to transport migrants resulting in death and aiding and abetting their transportation, charges carrying a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
The new indictment adds three defendants and expands the charges to include illegally bringing migrants into the country alongside conspiracy to commit money laundering. Twelve defendants now face charges in the deaths of the migrants, which carry a potential life sentence; 11 also face money laundering conspiracy charges, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
"This indictment reflects Homeland Security Investigation's commitment to pursuing the criminal networks that profit by treating human lives as cargo," said John A. Pasciucco, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio.
The 14 defendants include four U.S. citizens, three other noncitizens and seven people federal officials say are in the country illegally. Four defendants are identified as Texas residents: Karina Garcia, 37, Edson Alejandro Perez, 18, and Mayra Alejandra Huerta, 32, all of Del Rio, and Eric Hernandez, 40, of Eagle Pass.
What we know so far
The charges stem from the deaths of seven migrants in May, six of whom were found inside a shipping container at a Union Pacific rail yard in Laredo. A seventh was discovered near railroad tracks on San Antonio's Southwest Side.
The victims included four Mexican nationals and three Honduran nationals. The Webb County Medical Examiner's Office previously identified five of the six migrants found in Laredo as five men and one woman ranging from 14 to 56 years old.
The medical examiner determined the woman died from hyperthermia, or extreme overheating of the body. Authorities previously said extreme heat was likely responsible for the other deaths.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar previously identified the migrant found in San Antonio as a man carrying some form of Mexican identification. No additional information regarding the victim has been released at this time.
According to federal prosecutors, the incident was a part of a larger human smuggling operation that had been operating since at least April 2023, transporting people across the U.S.-Mexico border before moving them farther into the country using commercial freight trains.
The organization allegedly worked with other smuggling groups to coordinate routes, guides, drivers and stash houses, where migrants were held before continuing their journeys. Migrants or their relatives paid smugglers between $1,500 and $10,000 for transportation, according to federal officials.
On May 9, smugglers allegedly brought the seven migrants across the border near Del Rio and transported them to a Union Pacific railroad line.
While a train was stopped, smugglers used bolt cutters to remove a lock from a shipping container, loaded the migrants inside and secured the door from the outside, leaving them unable to escape. The container was stacked on top of another and had no ventilation or cooling system. Outside temperatures ranged from 88 to 92 degrees that day, according to investigators.
The train then traveled east toward San Antonio along U.S. Highway 90, where prosecutors say smugglers opened the container and discovered the migrants in distress. Rather than seeking help, the smugglers allegedly fled, leaving one of the migrants near the railroad tracks and the remaining six inside the container as the train continued toward Laredo.
According to court documents, on May 10, a Union Pacific employee inspecting the train at a Laredo rail yard noticed a leg sticking out of the container. Authorities subsequently discovered six people dead inside.
The discovery prompted investigators to search along railroad tracks in San Antonio, where the seventh victim was found near the 9600 block of Wolf Road.
At the time, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said investigators believed someone inside the container had contacted a relative in another state, warning that conditions were becoming dangerously hot and that the migrants were experiencing physical distress. Federal investigators have since confirmed that at least one victim sent a message to a loved one pleading for help.
The investigation has involved federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, San Antonio Police Department and Union Pacific Railroad Police.
This story first appeared in the San Antonio Report.
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