Alamo City residents erected a makeshift memorial at the site where 53 migrants died of heat-related illness in the back of a tractor-trailer in June 2022. Credit: Sanford Nowlin

Guatemalan police have arrested seven people in connection with the deaths 53 migrants locked inside a sweltering tractor-trailer abandoned in San Antonio in June 2022, according to the New York Times.

The tragedy was one of the deadliest involving migrants trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, prompting shock from around the globe. Smugglers locked 66 people, including children, inside the trailer without air conditioning or water. The victims succumbed to heat after the truck was left on the city’s South Side.

The National Civil Police of Guatemala told the New York Times on Wednesday that it conducted an operation with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security against a human-smuggling organization called “Los Orozcos” in connection with the 2022 incident.

The seven resulting arrests included group leader Rigoberto Ramón Miranda Orozco, also known as “Don Rigo,” a police spokesman told the Times.

U.S. Justice Department officials said they will hold a news conference Thursday in San Antonio to discuss arrests in the case. 

Guatemalan Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez tweeted that the raid had “dismantled” Los Orozcos and swept up “Don Rigo” and others who were “allegedly responsible” for the tragedy.
 So far, three have pleaded guilty to charges from the case. Wednesday’s arrests are the first that have occurred outside the United States, according to the Times.

The people who died in San Antonio two summers ago were from Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras.

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This article appears in Aug 21 – Sep 4, 2024.

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...