11 People Charged with Smuggling Following Discovery of Dead Migrants in Texas
· Telemundo McAllen (KTLM)
Federal authorities have charged 11 individuals following the discovery of seven deceased migrants, including a 14-year-old boy, in Texas in May 2026. The accused are linked to an organization involved in human smuggling that used Union Pacific freight containers to transport migrants from Del Río to San Antonio. According to the indictment, from at least April 2023 until May 12, 2026, the defendants and others operated a human trafficking organization that illegally used freight trains to move undocumented immigrants deeper into the United States after having crossed them illegally from Mexico. Each immigrant transported, or their relatives and friends, paid smugglers between $1,500 and $10,000 in Honduras, Mexico, the United States, and other locations. The indictment claims that by late April 2026, the organization began facilitating the illegal transport of at least seven immigrants from Acuña (Mexico) to Del Río (Texas). On May 9, approximately after the smugglers illegally crossed the seven migrants from Mexico into the Del Río area, the organization moved them to a location near the Union Pacific train tracks in that locality. Between 1:18 p.m. and 1:25 p.m., while a Union Pacific train was stopped, the suspects allegedly used red bolt cutters to cut the lock on the door of a Conex-type shipping container, placed the migrants inside, and closed the door. The container was stacked on another and lacked ventilation or refrigeration systems.
AI summary · Source: Telemundo McAllen (KTLM) →
