Indictments Issued Following Migrant Deaths in Texas

The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas has secured indictments against 11 individuals suspected of involvement in a tragic incident where seven undocumented migrants died while confined in railroad cars earlier this year. In May, six were discovered deceased in a freight car near Laredo, Texas, while a seventh individual was found near the tracks in San Antonio.

According to a statement from the Justice Department, a federal grand jury in Del Rio, Texas, has issued multiple indictments related to a human smuggling operation linked to these deaths. Among the defendants, there are seven foreign nationals from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.

Prosecutors allege that this smuggling organization operated between April and May of this year, utilizing freight trains to transport undocumented migrants who crossed the border from Mexico into deeper areas of the United States. As stated, the prices charged to these individuals or their families ranged from $1,500 to $10,000 for passage into the U.S.

The grand jury has returned indictments against:

• Karina Garcia, 37, of Del Rio, Texas.
• Edson Alejandro Perez, 18, of Del Rio.
• Ceferino Huerta-Casillas, 35, Mexico.
• Jonas Ulloa Aguilera, 25, from Honduras.
• Mayra Alejandra Huerta, 32, of Del Rio.
• Maria Norma Neri de Moran, 56, from Mexico.
• Damien Huerta Analucas, 55, Mexico.
• Rosario Cristal López Saldana, 26, Mexico.
• Eric Hernandez, 40, of Eagle Pass, Texas.
• Franklin Williams Ayala Aguilera, 30, from Honduras.
• Pascual Raimundo Loarca, 34, from Guatemala.

The indictment asserts that the co-conspirators helped transport at least seven undocumented migrants from Acuña, Mexico, to Del Rio in late April. Allegedly, on or around May 9, smugglers moved the migrants to an area close to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks in Del Rio. Between 1:18 p.m. and 1:25 p.m., they reportedly used a red bolt cutter to unlock a shipping container and loaded the migrants onto the train, subsequently locking them inside.

The containers reportedly lacked ventilation and cooling systems, with local temperatures rising to nearly the low 90s Fahrenheit. Among those included in the container were a 14-year-old child. Prosecutors mentioned that the smugglers locked the container to prevent the migrants from escaping as the heat intensified. The train then departed eastbound toward San Antonio.

Upon arrival in San Antonio, when the smugglers opened the container, they reportedly found the migrants in severe distress from heatstroke and dehydration. Allegedly, one deceased migrant was discarded near the tracks, while the others remained trapped inside the container as the train continued to Laredo the following day.

Prosecutors identified four of the deceased as Mexican nationals and three as Honduran. It was noted that at least one migrant managed to send a distress message to a family member.

Mayra Alejandra Huerta was apprehended on May 12 in Del Rio on suspicion of harboring undocumented migrants and faces additional charges. Meanwhile, two defendants, Karina Garcia and Ceferino Huerta-Casillas, are still at large.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, all 11 defendants face charges related to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death and aiding and abetting this transport. If convicted, each could face life sentences.

This case underscores the dangerous realities associated with human smuggling, particularly when tied to organized crime, highlighting a troubling disregard for the lives involved.