A Guatemalan citizen has been sentenced to 30 years in a US prison for his role in a smuggling operation that led to the deaths of 53 migrants trapped inside a truck — a tragedy regarded as one of the deadliest incidents along the US-Mexico border in recent years.
According to court records, US District Judge Orlando Garcia handed down the 30-year sentence to Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco, 39, at a hearing on Tuesday. The sentencing came more than a year after he was extradited from Guatemala in March 2025. Miranda-Orozco had earlier been arrested in Guatemala in August 2024 as part of a cross-border effort to dismantle the smuggling network.
The charges stem from the events of June 27, 2022. According to the US Department of Justice, rescue crews at the time found dozens of people trapped inside a truck abandoned in a remote area on the southern outskirts of San Antonio, Texas.
In all, 64 migrants made the long journey that began in Guatemala, passed through Mexico and crossed into the United States. As the truck traveled from Laredo to San Antonio — a distance of about 250 km — its air conditioning reportedly failed. When the vehicle was found, the outside temperature was close to 32 degrees Celsius.
Forty-eight people were pronounced dead at the scene, and five others died during emergency treatment from heatstroke and dehydration. Among the victims were six children and a pregnant woman; 21 of those who died were Guatemalan citizens.
Miranda-Orozco admitted to arranging transport and accommodation for two of the migrants who died in the truck and for one survivor who was seriously injured. Last July he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring migrants into the United States resulting in death, as well as aiding and abetting illegal entry that caused death and serious injury.
According to the Associated Press, Miranda-Orozco is among nearly 20 people convicted in the United States and Guatemala in connection with the tragedy. Felipe Orduna-Torres, identified as the ringleader of the network in the US, was sentenced to life in prison at a federal court in San Antonio in June 2025. Armando Gonzales-Ortega, described by prosecutors as Orduna-Torres's right-hand man, received an 83-year sentence.
Several proceedings are still ongoing, including the case against the truck driver. According to prosecutors, investigators found traces of the victims' desperate attempts to escape: some are believed to have removed their clothing, while scratch marks on the interior walls of the trailer showed that people had clung to the sides in a futile search for a way out.
Prosecutors said those on board had paid up to $15,000 to be taken across the border. Speaking at a news conference after Tuesday's sentencing, US Attorney Justin Simmons said: "It is clear they endured horrific conditions in the final hours of their lives."
Interstate 35, which passes near the spot where the truck was found, runs through San Antonio from the Mexican border. According to Jack Staton, a former senior official at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the route is considered a popular smuggling corridor because of its heavy truck traffic.
President Donald Trump's administration has cited the need to end human trafficking as grounds for its crackdown on illegal immigration along the southern border. Critics argue, however, that harsh enforcement measures may push migrants toward more dangerous ways of crossing the border illegally.
