SAN ANTONIO – A federal judge issued two lengthy sentences to two men connected to a 2022 migrant smuggling tragedy along Quintana Road Friday morning.
Armando Gonzales-Ortega, the alleged coordinator, and Felipe Orduna-Torres, a leader and organizer in the incident, were found guilty on the same three charges: conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death, causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy by a jury earlier this year.
The federal judge presiding over the case, before issuing the sentences, called it “the most horrific of my 31 years on the bench.”
Gonzales-Ortega was sentenced to 1,050 months, which amounts to 87 years and six months in prison.
Orduna-Torres received two life sentences and a 20-year sentence that will run consecutively. He was also fined $250,000.
Both defendants will have the right to appeal.
Authorities found 67 migrants on June 27, 2022, inside a sweltering semitruck on Quintana Road on the Southwest Side. The incident was the deadliest case of human trafficking in U.S. history.
Initially, the death toll was 48, but it rose to 53 by June 29, with victims who succumbed to heat-related injuries. One of the 53 victims killed was pregnant.
The migrants traveled from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, according to Mexico’s National Immigration Institute.
Friday marked three years since the tragedy.
At a Friday morning news conference following the sentencing, officials involved in the investigation lauded the support of several law enforcement partners.
The full press conference can be viewed below:
Regarding the prosecution of Gonzales-Ortega and Orduna-Torres, Justin Simmons, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, described what the moment represented.
“This truly was a cooperative effort,” Simmons said. “This was a major milestone in this case, with these individuals effectively going away for the rest of their lives. That is justice in this case.”
Simmons said it was estimated that each migrant paid at least $12,000, which equated to about $768,000 for the cartel responsible for the tragedy.
From November 2021 through June 2022, it was estimated the cartel cell moved approximately 1,100 people across the border, according to Simmons.
Craig Larrabee, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Antonio, continued by describing the result of the three-year-long investigation.
“Today’s sentencings are the result of a far-reaching investigation and a tireless commitment by HSI and our law enforcement partners to dismantle the deadliest human smuggling operation in U.S. history,” Larrabee said.
The Department of Justice said 48-year-old Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco made his first court appearance in March. Officials said his jury trial is scheduled for Sept. 29.
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