47 of 53 Texas migrant tractor-trailer victims now identified, including a 13-year-old

All however six of the 53 migrants discovered lifeless or dying in a tractor-trailer in Texas final week have been recognized, officers stated Wednesday.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office stated 22 of the lifeless have been from Mexico, 19 have been from Guatemala and 6 have been from Honduras.

The migrants have been present in an deserted trailer June 27 on a again street on the sting of San Antonio. The alleged driver of the truck was due in federal courtroom Wednesday for a detention listening to.

The lifeless included two 16-year-olds from Mexico and a 13-year-old and 14-year-old from Guatemala, the health worker’s workplace stated. Relatives in Guatemala had beforehand recognized the teenagers as cousins: 13-year-old Pascual Melvin Guachiac and 14-year-old Juan Wilmer Tulul Tepaz.

In Honduras, relations recognized two of the victims as 23-year-old (*53*) Miguel Andino Caballero, 23, and his spouse, 24-year-old Margie Tamara Paz Grajeda. 

One survivor of the journey, a 20-year-old from Guatemala, instructed The Associated Press that smugglers had lined the trailer’s ground with what she believes was powdered rooster bouillon, apparently to throw off any canine at checkpoint.

The truck was carrying 73 individuals in all when it was discovered June 27. Federal prosecutors say 4 individuals have been arrested in reference to the invention of the truck, including the driving force.

Two males charged within the incident may face the demise penalty, the Justice (*47*) stated final week.

Texas native Homero Zamorano, the alleged truck driver, was arrested on prison fees related to his alleged involvement within the lethal smuggling marketing campaign. If convicted, the 45-year-old Pasadena resident faces as much as life in jail, or the chance of the demise penalty, in response to the Justice Department.

Christian Martinez, 28, was additionally charged after federal legislation enforcement officers executed a search warrant on a cellphone belonging to Zamorano. Investigators discovered communications between him and Martinez during which they mentioned the smuggling try, in response to the DOJ.

Craig Larrabee, a Homeland Security Investigations particular agent in cost of investigating the incident, referred to as it “eye-opening” and “horrific” in an interview.

“This is the highest casualty event related to human smuggling in U.S. history,” he instructed CBS News.

Larrabee stated his company has recorded a rise in transnational smuggling networks utilizing tractor-trailers to move massive teams of migrants who entered the nation unlawfully. 

“You have organizations that simply do not care about the safety of the individuals they’re transporting,” he added. “It’s a commodity.”