Washington, Oct 21 : A Guatemalan national has been sentenced to 30 years in an American federal prison for his involvement in a human-smuggling operation that left 53 migrants dead inside a tractor-trailer in Texas, one of the deadliest migrant-smuggling tragedies in United States history.
The Justice Department announced Tuesday that Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco, 39, received the sentence for helping organise the movement of migrants from Guatemala through Mexico into the United States.
The victims died in June 2022 after being transported in a crowded trailer without functioning air conditioning during extreme summer heat.
The sentencing marks another major development in the federal prosecution of a transnational smuggling network that moved migrants across international borders for financial gain.
According to court documents, Miranda-Orozco worked with other smugglers to arrange transportation and accommodation for migrants travelling through Guatemala, Mexico and the United States.
The operation culminated in the discovery of a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas, on June 27, 2022.
Investigators determined that 64 migrants had been packed into the trailer, which travelled approximately 156 miles from Laredo to San Antonio in temperatures around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, or 32 degrees Celsius.
The vehicle's cargo compartment lacked functioning air conditioning.
Emergency responders found 48 people dead at the scene. Five others subsequently died in hospital, bringing the death toll to 53.
Eleven migrants survived with injuries. Among those killed were six minors and at least one pregnant woman.
Federal prosecutors said 21 of the victims were Guatemalan nationals.
Miranda-Orozco was personally responsible for arranging the smuggling of two Guatemalan migrants who died in the incident. A third person he helped transport suffered serious injuries but survived after prolonged hospital treatment.
The defendant admitted arranging transportation and accommodation for migrants along the route through Central America, Mexico and the United States.
He pleaded guilty on July 2 to conspiracy to bring a foreign national into the United States resulting in death, aiding and abetting bringing a foreign national into the country resulting in death, and aiding and abetting an offence resulting in serious bodily injury.
The Justice Department said Miranda-Orozco had been arrested in Guatemala in August 2024 following a request from American authorities.
His arrest formed part of a wider operation in which Guatemalan law enforcement agencies executed multiple search and arrest warrants.
He was extradited to the United States in March 2025 to face prosecution.
US Attorney Justin Simmons for the Western District of Texas said the defendant had believed he could escape American justice by remaining in Guatemala.
"Miranda-Orozco was personally responsible for smuggling two Guatemalans who died in that horrific tragedy," Simmons said.
The San Antonio tragedy drew international attention to the dangers associated with clandestine migrant transportation across the US-Mexico border. Smuggling networks frequently charge migrants substantial fees while exposing them to dangerous journeys, confinement and exploitation.
US jails smuggler for 30 years over 53 deaths
