The Texas man found with 53 dead migrants in the back of a tractor-trailer pled guilty for his role in the deadliest human-smuggling incident in United States history.
Homero Zamorano Jr., of Elkhart, appeared before a judge Thursday morning where entered a guilty plea to two counts of conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants resulting in death and one count resulting in serious injury, KSAT News reported.
He is the third man to have pleaded guilty to the 2022 mass casualty event that left 53 people - including children - dead near Interstate 35.
The 48-year-old man is now facing a maximum penalty of life in prison and is set to be sentenced on April 24.
On June 27, 2022, officials discovered dozens of migrants packed into the back of an 18-wheeler on the outskirts of San Antonio.
The truck, smuggling at least 64 migrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, was discovered abandoned in a desolate, industrial area near a highway about 160 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
All of the migrants were left trapped in the sweltering heat without any ventilation, air-conditioning or water.
Those stuck inside screamed and banged on the walls of the truck for help while also attempting to claw their way out as temperatures reached nearly 100 degrees, investigators said.
Homero Zamorano Jr., of Elkhart, Texas, pleaded guilty on Thursday for his role in the deadliest human-smuggling incident in United States history
Zamorano was the driver of the tractor-trailer that smuggled at least 64 migrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador - 53 of whom were killed from the extreme heat they experienced while trapped inside
Its estimated temperatures would have been closer to 150 degrees inside the truck.
Forty-eight people were found dead at the scene - their bodies stacked on top of one another. Five others later died at local hospitals.
First responders said many of the victims were hot to the touch and suffered from heatstroke and dehydration.
In total, 47 adults and six children were killed from extreme heat exposure and asphyxiation - leaving behind only 11 survivors.
The allegations in the indictment are horrifying, said Jaime Esparza, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, in 2023.
Dozens of desperate, vulnerable men, women and children put their trust in smugglers who abandoned them in a locked trailer to perish in the merciless south Texas summer.
Zamorano was the driver of the tractor-trailer and knew that the air conditioning didnt work inside, according to officials. He was said to have abandoned the truck on a semi-rural road so he could flee.
Police arrested Zamorano in 2022 after he was spotted cowardly hiding in a nearby bush - attempting to evade San Antonio police officers by posing as a survivor, a Mexican immigrant official said.
It was discovered that he was in communication with now-30-year-old Christian Martinez - another Texas man who was charged in the criminal complaint - about the smuggling scheme.
Martinez ultimately pleaded guilty to the charges in September of 2023 and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison as he awaits sentencing.
Two other suspects, Juan Claudio DLuna-Mendez and Juan Francisco DLuna-Bilbao, were also arrested just days after the tragedy.
DLuna-Mendez and DLuna-Bilbao were arrested on June 27 at a home connected to the trailer-trucks registration after their license plates traced back to the scene.
The pair were ultimately charged with possession of a firearm while unlawfully present in the United States - each facing up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Additionally, four Mexican nationals were also arrested in the case months later on suspicion of facilitating the transportation of the migrants by allegedly obtaining an 18-wheeler and handing it off to Zamorano.
The Justice Department charged Riley Covarrubias-Ponce, Felipe Orduna-Torres, Luis Alberto Rivera-Leal and Armando Gonzales-Ortega with conspiracy and alien smuggling resulting in death.
Prosecutors claim the men were part of an illegal operation that brought migrant children and adults from Central America into the U.S. between December 2021 and June 2022.
On June 27, 2022, officials discovered dozens of migrants packed into the back of an 18-wheeler on the outskirts of San Antonio - each trapped in the sweltering heat without any ventilation, air-conditioning or water
Police arrested Zamorano in 2022 after he was spotted cowardly hiding in a nearby bush - attempting to evade San Antonio police officers by posing as a survivor
Zamorano is the third man to have pleaded guilty to the 2022 mass casualty event that left 53 people - including children - dead near Interstate 35 on an isolated road
The migrants reportedly each paid between $12,000 and $15,000 to be brought into the country.
Orduna-Torres is accused of providing the Laredo address at which alleged driver Zamorano loaded the migrants into the tractor trailer before they died.
Gonzalez-Ortega allegedly traveled to Laredo to meet the tractor-trailer, where the at least 64 undocumented individuals, including eight children and one pregnant woman, were loaded for smuggling.
Martinez, Covarrubias-Ponce, Orduna-Torres, Rivera-Leal, and Gonzales-Ortega then coordinated, facilitated, passed messages, and made each other aware of the tractor-trailer’s progress, per the indictment.
The men worked together for every part of transporting the group, including using trucking routes, local guides, stash houses and trailers to move the migrants.
They also are accused of working alongside Zamorano and Martinez.
Covarrubias-Ponce pleaded guilty to his charges in January of 2024.
All four face life in prison, if convicted.
It was discovered that Zamorano was in communication with now-30-year-old Christian Martinez (pictured) about the smuggling scheme - another Texas man who was charged in the criminal complaint and entered a guilty plea in 2023
Those stuck inside screamed and banged on the walls of the truck for help while also attempting to claw their way out as temperatures reached nearly 100 degrees
Those who died were seeking better lives as they attempted to flee poverty or violence in Central America and Mexico
In August of 2023, another suspect was arrested in Guatemala and charged with helping coordinate the smuggling attempt.
Rigoberto Román Miranda Orozco, who was charged with six counts of migrant smuggling resulting in death or serious injury, also faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Authorities claimed that he is allegedly connected to four of the Guatemalan migrants that were in the trailer - three of whom died.
Orozcos indictment stated that the smugglers had forced each migrant to give up their cellphones before getting inside the trailer, leaving them no way to call for help.
An unknown powder was also spread around the trailer to prevent the smell of humans from being detected by patrol dogs at border inspection stations.
Those who died were seeking better lives as they attempted to flee poverty or violence in Central America and Mexico.
The 2022 tragedy was the deadliest smuggling-operation in the nation.
In 2017, 10 migrants died from being trapped inside a truck parked at a Walmart in San Antonio.
In 2003, the bodies of 19 migrants were found in a sweltering hot truck just southeast of San Antonio.