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By Daniel Trotta
(Reuters) -A federal jury in San Antonio, Texas, on Tuesday convicted two Mexican men for their roles in the smuggling death of 53 migrants packed into a truck during sweltering heat in June 2022, the Justice Department said.
More than 60 migrants from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras were stuck in a tractor-trailer with malfunctioning air conditioning that was abandoned on the outskirts of San Antonio on June 27, 2022, a day when temperatures soared as high as 103 Fahrenheit (39.4 Celsius).
Forty-eight people were found dead at the scene and another five died in hospital. Among the dead were six children and a pregnant woman, the Justice Department said in a press release. Eleven others were hospitalized.
Some migrants inside the trailer lost consciousness, while others clawed at the walls trying to escape, the Justice Department said, citing court documents and evidence presented at trial.
Felipe Orduna-Torres, 30, and Armando Gonzalez-Ortega, 55, were each convicted of four separate counts of smuggling resulting in death and injury and face up life in prison at sentencing, set for June 27.
Reuters could not immediately reach defense attorneys to make a statement in their defense.
Matthew Galeotti, acting had of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, called it "a momentus day" in remarks to media.
"The Department is committed to the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations," he said.
Four other suspects previously pleaded guilty, including the driver of the truck, a Justice Department spokesperson said. One other suspect remains a fugitive.
The investigation has also resulted in the extradition from Guatemala of another suspect: Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco, 48.
Prosecutors accuse Miranda-Orozco of leading a Guatemala-based organization that smuggled three of those who died, charging their families $12,000-$15,000 each for the journey, the Justice Department said.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
