The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas obtained indictments against 11 individuals for their alleged roles in the deaths of seven illegal aliens who were locked inside a rail car earlier this year. Six of the migrants were found dead inside the rail car near Laredo, Texas, in May. The seventh was found dead near train tracks in San Antonio.
A federal grand jury in Del Rio, Texas, handed down the multi-count indictments against 11 defendants for their alleged roles in a human smuggling operation that led to the deaths of seven illegal aliens, according to a statement from the Department of Justice. The 11 defendants include seven foreign nationals from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
Map showing the train’s route along U. S. Highway 90 from Del Rio to San Antonio. (Department of Justice)
Prosecutors allege that the defendants operated a human smuggling organization from at least April 2023 to May 2026. The group would utilize cargo trains to smuggle illegal aliens who had successfully crossed the border from Mexico into Texas to points in the U.S. interior, the indictment states. The smuggled aliens, or their family/friends, would pay the smugglers between $1,500 and $10,000 to be moved into the U.S. interior from the border region.
The grand jury returned indictments against the following:
- Karina Garcia, 37, of Del Rio, Texas;
- Edson Alejandro Perez, 18, of Del Rio;
- Seferino Huerta-Casillas, 35, of Mexico;
- Jonas Ulloa-Aguilera, 25, of Honduras;
- Mayra Alejandra Huerta, 32, of Del Rio;
- Maria Norma Neri de Moran, 56, of Mexico;
- Damian Huerta Analucas, 55, of Mexico;
- Rosario Cristal Lopez-Saldana, 26, of Mexico;
- Eric Hernandez, 40, of Eagle Pass, Texas;
- Franklin Williams Ayala Aguilera, 30, of Honduras; and
- Pascual Raymundo Loarca, 34, of Guatemala
The indictment alleges that the co-conspirators facilitated the smuggling of at least seven illegal aliens from Acuña, Mexico, into Del Rio, Texas, in late April. On or about May 9, the smugglers transported the aliens to an area near the Union Pacific rail tracks in Del Rio. Sometime between 1:18 p.m. and 1:25 p.m., the smugglers used red bolt cutters to open a Conex shipping container and load the aliens aboard the train. The smugglers then locked the aliens inside the steel container, prosecutors stated.
Smugglers allegedly used the bolt cutters to remove the locking seal on the container. (Department of Justice)
The container had no ventilation or cooling system, and temperatures in the region rose to the low 90s Fahrenheit. Prosecutors said the seven aliens loaded into the container car included a 14-year-old child. The smugglers allegedly locked the container so the migrants could not escape the rising heat. The train departed the area and headed east to San Antonio.
Upon arrival in San Antonio, smugglers opened the container and discovered the migrants were suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration. The smugglers then allegedly dumped one of the deceased aliens on the ground near the tracks and locked the remaining migrants back inside the rail container. The train departed the next day and moved to Laredo.
Prosecutors identified four of the migrants as Mexican nationals. Three more were identified as Honduran nationals. At least one of the migrants managed to message a loved one — pleading for help.
Defendants Karina Garcia and Seferino Huerta-Casillas remain at large. (Department of Justice)
Investigators arrested Mayra Alejandra Huerta on May 12 in Del Rio on a charge of harboring illegal aliens. She was indicted on two additional charges. Two of the defendants, Karina Garcia and Seferino Huerta-Casillas, remain at large.
“All 11 defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death and one count of aiding and abetting transport of illegal aliens resulting in death,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated. “If convicted, the defendants would each face maximum penalties of life in prison.”
The death of these migrants illustrates the callous nature of cartel-connected human smugglers who have no regard for the safety and lives of their “human cargo.”
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.