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The truck had been packed with at least 160 migrants, many of
them Guatemalans, when it crashed into a support for a
pedestrian bridge in Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of the
southern state of Chiapas. The arrests were announced on the
three-year anniversary of the accident.
According to an indictment unsealed Monday in Laredo, Texas,
Guatemalan authorities arrested Tomas Quino Canil, 36; Alberto
Marcario Chitic, 31; Oswaldo Manuel Zavala Quino, 24; and Josefa
Quino Canil de Zavala, 42.
Another man, Jorge Agapito Ventura, was arrested at his home in
Cleveland, Texas, U.S. authorities said. Guatemalan officials
noted a sixth arrest. A sixth name listed on the U.S. federal
indictment was blacked out.
The accused were charged with conspiracy, placing life in
jeopardy, causing serious bodily injury, and resulting in death.
It was unclear late Monday if those arrested had attorneys in
the United States who could comment on their behalf. Justice
Department officials did not immediately respond to an email
Monday night.
The indictment charges them with conspiring to smuggle migrants
from Guatemala through Mexico to the U.S. for payment. In some
cases that involved smuggling unaccompanied children, the
defendants would provide scripts of what to say if apprehended,
the indictment said.
The smugglers would move migrants on foot, inside microbuses,
cattle trucks and tractor trailers, the indictment said. It said
the smugglers would use Facebook Messenger to request and
deliver identification documents to the migrants to get them
into the U.S.
“The tragedy that occurred three years ago today in Chiapas is
further proof that human smugglers are ruthless, callous and
dangerous, intending migrants should not believe their lives,”
said U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
Guatemalan Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez said the
defendants were part of a criminal structure called Los Quino,
and that U.S. officials had requested extradition of the four
arrested in Guatemala.
Authorities executed 15 search warrants across Guatemala on
Monday, Jiménez said. He said they had the support of the U.S.
and Mexican governments.
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