Alleged ringleader among 7 arrested in deaths of 53 migrants smuggled into Texas in tractor trailer in 2022

Guatemala City — Guatemalan police on Wednesday arrested seven Guatemalans accused in the smuggling of 53 migrants from Mexico and Central America who died of asphyxiation in 2022 in Texas after being abandoned in a tractor trailer in 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.