Federal prosecutors charged 11 people for their alleged roles in a human smuggling operation that left seven illegal immigrants locked inside a rail car to die in the heat near the Texas border.
A federal grand jury in Del Rio handed down the multi-count indictments against the 11 defendants, according to the Department of Justice. Seven of those charged are foreign nationals from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
The charges stem from a smuggling operation prosecutors allege ran from at least April 2023 to May 2026. The group allegedly used cargo trains to move illegal aliens from the Mexico-Texas border into the U.S. interior. The smuggled aliens — or their families — paid between $1,500 and $10,000 per person.
The indictment alleges the conspirators smuggled at least seven illegal aliens from Acuña, Mexico, into Del Rio, Texas, in late April. On or about May 9, the smugglers transported the migrants to an area near Union Pacific rail tracks in Del Rio.
Between 1:18 p.m. and 1:25 p.m., the smugglers allegedly used red bolt cutters to open a Conex shipping container and loaded the aliens aboard the train. They then locked the migrants inside the steel container.
The container had no ventilation or cooling system. Temperatures in the region rose to the low 90s Fahrenheit. Among those locked inside: a 14-year-old child.
Prosecutors said the smugglers locked the container so the migrants could not escape the rising heat. The train departed and headed east to San Antonio.
Upon arrival in San Antonio, smugglers opened the container and found the migrants suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration. The smugglers then allegedly dumped one of the deceased migrants on the ground near the tracks and locked the remaining migrants back inside the rail container.
The train departed the next day and moved to Laredo. Six migrants were later found dead inside the rail car near Laredo in May. The seventh was found dead near train tracks in San Antonio.
Prosecutors identified four of the victims as Mexican nationals and three as Honduran nationals. At least one of the migrants managed to message a loved one — pleading for help.
The grand jury returned indictments against Karina Garcia, 37, of Del Rio, Texas; Edson Alejandro Perez, 18, of Del Rio; Seferino Huerta-Casillas, 35, of Mexico; Jonas Ulloa-Aguilera, 25, of Honduras; Mayra Alejandra Huerta, 32, of Del Rio; Maria Norma Neri de Moran, 56, of Mexico; Damian Huerta Analucas, 55, of Mexico; Rosario Cristal Lopez-Saldana, 26, of Mexico; Eric Hernandez, 40, of Eagle Pass, Texas; Franklin Williams Ayala Aguilera, 30, of Honduras; and Pascual Raymundo Loarca, 34, of Guatemala.
Investigators arrested Mayra Alejandra Huerta on May 12 in Del Rio on a charge of harboring illegal aliens. She faces two additional charges. Two defendants, Karina Garcia and Seferino Huerta-Casillas, remain at large.
All 11 defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death and one count of aiding and abetting transport of illegal aliens resulting in death, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The charges remain allegations. The case has not been proven in court.
