Rigoberto Roman Miranda Orozco, one of seven Guatemalans accused of having smuggled 53 migrants from Mexico and Central America who died of asphyxiation in 2022 in Texas, sits in a cell at a courtroom in Guatemala City, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalan police on Wednesday arrested seven Guatemalans accused of having smuggled 53 migrants from Mexico and Central America who died of asphyxiation in 2022 in Texas after being abandoned in a tractor trailer in the scorching summer heat.

They were the latest arrests after years of investigation into the deadliest tragedy of migrants smuggled across the border from Mexico. The dead included eight children.

Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez told The Associated Press the arrests were made possible after 13 raids in three of the country’s departments. They included Rigoberto Román Miranda Orozco, the alleged ringleader of the smuggling gang whose extradition has been requested by the United States.

Police also seized vehicles and cash and rescued other migrants during the operations, they said in a statement.

“This is a collaborative effort between the Guatemalan police and Homeland Security, in addition to other national agencies, to dismantle the structures of human trafficking, one of the strategic objectives of the government President Bernardo Arévalo in order to take on the phenomenon of irregular migration,” Jiménez said.

Six people were charged previously.

Homero Zamorano Jr., who authorities say drove the truck, and Christian Martinez were arrested shortly after the migrants were found. Both are from Texas. Martinez later pleaded guilty to smuggling-related charges. Zamorano pleaded not guilty to smuggling-related charges and is awaiting trial. Four Mexican nationals were also arrested in 2023.

Authorities have said the men were aware that the trailer’s air-conditioning unit was malfunctioning and would not blow cool air to the migrants trapped inside during the sweltering, three-hour ride from the border city of Laredo to San Antonio.

When the trailer was opened in San Antonio, 48 migrants were already dead. Another 16 were taken to hospitals, where five more died. The dead included 27 people from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador.

Authorities have alleged that the men worked with human smuggling operations in Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, and shared routes, guides, stash houses, trucks and trailers, some of which were stored at a private parking lot in San Antonio.

Migrants paid the organization up to $15,000 each to be taken across the U.S. border. The fee would cover up to three attempts to get into the country.

Orozco, the alleged ringleader, was arrested in the Guatemalan department of San Marcos, on the border with Mexico. The other arrests occurred in the departments of Huehuetenango and Jalapa. The police identified the gang as “Los Orozcos” because several of those arrested are family members and carry that surname.

“Said organization illegally housed and transferred hundreds of migrants of different nationalities to the United States, collecting millions of quetzales (the national currency) through several years of operation,” said the Guatemalan government.

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Associated Press writer Jim Vertuno contributed to this report from Austin, Texas.

News from © The Associated Press, 2024