A federal jury has convicted two men in connection with the deaths of 53 migrants who were found in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer in San Antonio in 2022.
Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzalez-Ortega were found guilty of their roles in the human smuggling operation that led to one of the deadliest migrant tragedies in U.S. history. They could face up to life in prison when sentenced this summer.
The tragedy unfolded after dozens of migrants, who had paid to be smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border, were loaded into the cargo area of a tractor-trailer in Laredo. The air conditioning in the trailer was broken, and as temperatures soared into triple digits, the migrants screamed, banged on the walls, and tried to claw their way out.
By the time the truck reached San Antonio, 48 migrants had died inside the trailer. An additional five succumbed to heat-related injuries at hospitals in San Antonio.
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