A federal judge has sentenced Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco to 30 years in prison for his alleged involvement in the deaths 53 migrants locked inside a sweltering tractor-trailer abandoned on the South Side in June 2022.
Federal Judge Orlando Garcia sentenced the Guatemalan man Tuesday on multiple charges, according to officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He was extradited from Guatemala in last year and pleaded guilty this July.
During a Tuesday press conference, U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons said Miranda-Orozco was culpable for the deaths of two Guatemalans inside the trailer and the suffering of a third who survived the ordeal.
“Based on their condition, it was clear they suffered tremendously in their last few hours on this earth,” Simmons said of the 53 migrants trapped inside the abandoned trailer. “One of the clearest pieces of evidence that indicated their level of suffering was not just the amount of clothing they had removed to cool off in the sweltering temperatures inside that trailer, but also claw marks that agents found on the side of that trailer.”
Simmons added that court testimony showed that Miranda-Orozco resumed organizing trips to smuggle people into the U.S. within weeks of the tragedy in San Antonio.
Last year, two additional men were found guilty of charges related to the incident. Armando Gonzales-Ortega received a sentence of more than 87 years in prison, while Felipe Orduna-Torres received two life sentences and a 20-year sentence that will run consecutively, according to authorities.
Five defendants in the case still await sentencing and one is a fugitive, according to authorities. Homero Zamorano, who’s accused of driving and abandoning the tractor-trailer, is set to be sentenced in December.
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