Guatemalan police have apprehended seven individuals accused of smuggling 53 migrants who tragically died of asphyxiation in Texas in 2022. The victims, including eight children, were abandoned in a tractor-trailer in scorching summer heat. This incident marks the culmination of years of investigation into one of the deadliest migrant smuggling tragedies along the Mexico border.
Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez revealed that the arrests were made possible following 13 raids conducted in three different departments of Guatemala. Among those arrested is Rigoberto Román Miranda Orozco, the alleged leader of the smuggling ring, for whom the United States has requested extradition. The police operations also led to the seizure of vehicles and cash, as well as the rescue of other migrants.
