Six Guatemalans were arrested in Guatemala and Texas Monday on human smuggling allegations tied to a 2021 semitrailer truck tragedy in Mexico that killed more than 50 migrants, police said.
When the truck struck a pedestrian bridge support in Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of the southern state of Chiapas, it was carrying at least 160 migrants, many of whom were from Guatemala. On the third anniversary of the catastrophe, the arrests were made public.
Guatemalan officials detained Tomas Quino Canil, 36; Alberto Marcario Chitic, 31; Oswaldo Manuel Zavala Quino, 24; and Josefa Quino Canil de Zavala, 42, following an indictment that was made public in Laredo, Texas, on Monday.
According to U.S. police, another guy, Jorge Agapito Ventura, was taken into custody at his Cleveland, Texas, residence. A sixth arrest was reported by Guatemalan authorities. On the U.S. federal indictment, a sixth name was blacked out.
The defendants faced charges of conspiracy, endangering life, causing severe physical harm, and causing death.
Late Monday, it was unclear whether the people who were arrested had U.S.-based lawyers who could provide a statement. An email sent Monday night was not immediately answered by Justice Department officials.
They are accused in the indictment of planning to smuggle migrants from Guatemala into the United States via Mexico in exchange for money. According to the indictment, in certain instances involving the smuggling of unaccompanied minors, the defendants would give instructions on what to say if they were caught.
According to the indictment, the smugglers would transport migrants on foot, in tractor trailers, cattle vehicles, and microbuses. It stated that to bring the migrants into the United States, the traffickers would request and supply identification documents to them using Facebook Messenger.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas stated, “The tragedy that took place in Chiapas three years ago today is further proof that human smugglers are ruthless, callous, and dangerous, intending migrants should not believe their lives.”
Francisco Jiménez, the interior minister of Guatemala, said that the defendants belonged to a criminal organization known as Los Quino and that the four people who were arrested in Guatemala had been asked to be extradited by U.S. investigators.
According to Jiménez, authorities carried out 15 search warrants around Guatemala on Monday. He said that the governments of Mexico and the United States supported them.
Reference: 6 charged with human smuggling in deadly 2021 Mexico truck crash