Rosa Flores, Rosalina Nieves and Raja Razek, CNN Posted Thursday, 30 June 2022 07:41 EDT Last Updated on Thursday, 30 June 2022 22:19 EDT
(CNN) – Four people have been arrested and charged after the deaths of 53 migrants in what a National Security Investigation agent called the deadliest human trafficking incident in U.S. history.
The migrants were found Monday in suffocating conditions inside a truck in San Antonio after an employee of a nearby building heard screams for help. According to San Antonio authorities, more than a dozen people were found alive inside the tractor-trailer and hospitalized for heat-related conditions.
Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, who is originally from Brownsville but resides in Pasadena, Texas, was arrested Wednesday on criminal charges related to alleged involvement in human trafficking that resulted in the death, according to a press release of the United States Department of Justice. Zamorano has a long criminal history dating back to the 1990s, according to public records.
Christian Martinez, 28, who was arrested Tuesday in Palestine, Texas, was charged with conspiracy to transport undocumented migrants that resulted in death, the DOJ said.
If convicted, both Zamorano and Martinez could face life in prison or the death penalty. CNN has not been able to determine if Martinez has a lawyer.
Zamorano, with his hands and feet held, filed his first appearance before a federal judge in San Antonio on Thursday. At least four U.S. marshals were in the courtroom when Zamorano read the charges he faces. Zamorano said he was not affected by mental health issues, medication or alcohol, after being asked by the judge.
When CNN asked him, Zamorano’s lawyer said he didn’t want to comment.
The state prosecutor’s office has filed a motion calling for Zamorano to be detained without bail. His arrest hearing is set for July 6 at 11 a.m. CT in San Antonio federal court.
When police arrived at the scene on Monday, they discovered several people inside the tractor-trailer, some on the ground and in a nearby brush, “many of them dead and some disabled,” according to the DOJ statement.
“SAPD agents were led to the location of an individual, later identified as Zamorano, who was observed hiding among the outbreaks after attempting to flee. Zamorano was arrested by SAPD agents,” he said. the statement.
The Laredo Sector Border Patrol also provided National Security Investigation Officers with surveillance images showing the tractor-trailer crossing an immigration checkpoint, according to the statement. The driver could be seen wearing a black striped shirt and a hat.
“HSI agents confirmed that Zamorano matched the individual from the surveillance footage and that he was wearing the same clothes,” the statement says.
An investigation revealed that there were communications between Zamorano and Martinez about the smuggling event, according to the statement.
Two other individuals, Juan Claudio D’Luna-Méndez and Juan Francisco D’Luna-Bilbao, have been charged with “illegal possession of a weapon by a foreigner in the United States,” according to criminal charges. presented Monday. Authorities were able to locate the men after responding to the semi-truck incident, according to the affidavit.
D’Luna-Méndez’s lawyer said he does not comment on the pending cases. CNN has contacted D’Luna-Bilbao’s lawyer and has not received a response.
There is no water or AC running inside the trailer, the fire chief said
The refrigerated semi-tractor-trailer had no visible air conditioning unit and there was no water signal inside, San Antonio fire chief Charles Hood told reporters Monday. It is unclear how long people had been dead inside the truck, he said.
High temperatures on Monday in the Sant Antoni area ranged from 90 to 100, according to the National Meteorological Service.
“None of these people were able to get out of the truck,” Hood said. “So they were still in there, waiting for help, when we arrived … that is, being too weak – a weak state – to go out and help each other.”
Craig Larrabee, acting special agent in charge of San Antonio National Security Investigations, described it as “the worst human trafficking event in the United States.”
“In the past, smuggling organizations were maternal. Now they are organized and linked to cartels. So you have a criminal organization that does not take into account the safety of migrants. They are treated as goods rather than as people. “. Larrabee told CNN in a phone interview.
The discovery came as U.S. federal authorities launched what they described as an “unprecedented” operation to disrupt human trafficking networks amid an influx of migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Business owners in the area where the trailer was found told CNN they were in shock.
“They were humans, it was terrible,” said Israel Martinez, 68, co-owner of USA Auto Parts. “We (the migrants) come to this country to have a better life and yesterday we reminded many of us that unfortunately some of us get it but many others do not.”