Criminal cases were formally filed against four people for their roles in a deadly smuggling operation after allegedly leaving dozens of migrants to die in the back of a sweltering 18-wheeler in San Antonio earlier this week.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas on Wednesday charged Homero Zamorano Jr., the 45-year-old alleged truck driver, with one count of alien smuggling resulting in death.
Officials said Zamorano wore the same clothes as the driver captured on surveillance footage at an immigration checkpoint.
Also charged is Christian Martinez, 28, for one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death.
Two other persons were charged concerning the gruesome crime of Mexican citizens, 23-year-old Juan Claudio D’Luna-Mendez and 48-year-old Juan Francisco D’Luna-Bilbao, 48.
The two are charged with one count of possessing a weapon by an alien illegally in the U.S.
The dead bodies were found scattered inside the truck, some outside on the road and in the bushes on Monday.
The local police revealed that 48 people were declared dead at the scene, including 22 Mexican nationals, seven Guatemalan nationals, and two Honduran nationals, and 16 were taken to local hospitals; five of those have since died.
The local police added that the deaths could be because the truck had no working air conditioning, and there were no signs of water for the migrants.
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