Two men arrested in a deadly immigrant smuggling case could face the death penalty

Due to the heat wave of San Antonio this week, it was thrown away on the trailer truck. TheDepartment of Justice said on Wednesday, explaining the worst human smuggling case in US history.

Texas-born Homero Zamorano, a alleged truck driver, was arrested Wednesday on a criminal accusation related to alleged involvement in a deadly smuggling campaign. According to a DOJ press release, a 45-year-old Pasadena resident faces the possibility of life imprisonment or the death penalty if convicted.

According to a press release, when authorities responded to the scene on Monday, they found Zamorano hiding in a brush after trying to escape from the scene. He was subsequently detained by San Antonio police officers. 

Federal law enforcement agencies used surveillance footage from the U.S. Border Guard to track Zamorano to an abandoned truck. .. Laredo sector. Officials said the video driver was wearing a black striped shirt and hat, matching Zamorano's appearance.

28-year-old Christian Martinez was also charged after federal law enforcement officials executed an investigation warrant on Zamorano's cell phone. Investigators, according to the release, found communication discussing smuggling attempts between him and Martinez.

A division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), San Antonio Police Officers of the Department of Homeland Security (HSI) and federal law enforcement agencies, allegedly trafficked on Monday. Corresponding to the site. Workers heard a cry for help and encountered a trailer with a partially half-open door. According to the announcement, police received multiple 911 calls from the citizens involved. 

Authorities have found 64 immigrants suspected of entering the United States without permission on the scene. This includes multiple victims who are still in the tractor trailer. A nearby brush. 

On Wednesday, the number of migrants who died as a result of being abandoned in trucks without air conditioning or water increased to 53 on Wednesday. Bexar County Coroner.

More than 12 people, including children, were taken to a local hospital for heat-related injuries. As of Wednesday afternoon, 11 people remained in the hospital, according to the Immigration and Customs Department.

HSI Special Agent Craig Lullaby of San Antonio, investigating the case, called it "amazing" and "terrifying" in an interview.

"This is the largest trafficking-related casualty event in US history," he told CBS News.

Larrabee states that his agency has recorded an increase in cross-border smuggling networks that use tractor trailers to transport large groups of migrants who have illegally entered the country. rice field. 

"You have an organization that simply doesn't care about the safety of the individuals they transport," he added. "It's a commodity."

Earlier this week, Mexican citizens Juan Claudio Dornamendes, 23, and Juan Francisco Dorna Bilbao, 48, were arrested on separate criminal accusations of possession of firearms. .. Federal prosecutors demanded that both men be detained without being detained. Each man is sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined up to $ 250,000 if convicted. The two will first appear in court before the US Magistrate Judge in San Antonio on Monday and will return to court on Friday morning for their respective detention trials. 

All four defendants remain in federal prison. Zamorano will appear in front of the US Magistrate Judge in San Antonio on Thursday. Martinez, who was arrested in Palestine on Tuesday and is awaiting a transfer to the Western Texas area, has no court day.