ICE, law enforcement partners’ investigation results in life sentences for human smuggling leader and coordinator on anniversary of deadly trailer conspiracy

SAN ANTONIO — Two convicted human smugglers were sentenced June 27 for their prominent roles in the 2022 mass casualty human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in the deaths of 47 adults and six children. This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with the assistance of various federal and state law enforcement agencies in South Texas.

U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia sentenced Felipe Orduna-Torres to life in prison and a $250,000 fine, and Armando Gonzales-Ortega to 83 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Both defendants were found guilty by a federal jury in March for three counts related to the transportation of aliens within the United States resulting in death, causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy. Following the jury’s verdict at the trial, Garcia set the sentencing date, noting that it would be three years to the day from when the 53 migrants perished as a result of the defendants’ smuggling scheme.

“These criminals will spend the rest of their lives in prison because of their cruel choice to profit off of human suffering,” said U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Today’s sentences are a powerful message to human smugglers everywhere: We will not rest until you are behind bars.”

“Three years to the day after these two smugglers and their co-conspirators left dozens of men, women and children locked in a sweltering tractor-trailer to die in the Texas summer heat, they learned that they will spend the rest of their lives locked away in a federal prison,” said U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Justin R. Simmons. “We recognize the justice handed down by Judge Garcia and thank our law enforcement partners for their great work that led to today’s outcome. At the same time, we reinforce the message that these criminal organizations will not place the lives of the desperate and vulnerable above their own financial enrichment. My office remains focused on prosecuting smugglers and their networks and ultimately eradicating transnational criminal organizations.”

“Today’s sentences are the result of a far-reaching investigation and a tireless commitment by HSI and our law enforcement partners to dismantle the deadliest human smuggling operation in U.S. history,” ICE Homeland Security Investigations San Antonio Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee. “This case serves as a stark reminder: Human smuggling is not a service — it is a deadly criminal enterprise. HSI will pursue smugglers relentlessly, wherever they operate. No one who participates in the smuggling of human beings will escape the reach of justice.”

According to court documents, Orduna-Torres, also known as Cholo, Chuequito/Chuekito and Negro, 30, was a leader and organizer, and Gonzales-Ortega, also known as El Don and Don Gon, 55, was a coordinator in the human smuggling organization that illegally brought adults and children from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico into the United States between December 2021 and June 2022.

Orduna-Torres and Gonzales-Ortega worked in concert to transport and facilitate the transportation of the migrants, sharing routes, guides, stash houses, trucks, trailers and transporters to consolidate costs, minimize risks and maximize profit. The human smuggling organization maintained a variety of tractors and trailers for their smuggling operations, some of which were stored at a private parking lot in San Antonio.

In the days leading up to June 27, 2022, Orduna-Torres and others exchanged the names of illegal aliens who would be smuggled in an upcoming tractor-trailer load. Gonzales-Ortega traveled to Laredo to meet the tractor-trailer, where at least 64 undocumented individuals, including eight children and one pregnant woman, were loaded for smuggling.

Some of the defendants, including Orduna-Torres, were aware that the trailer’s refrigerator unit was malfunctioning and not blowing any cool air to the migrants inside. When members of the organization met the tractor-trailer at the end of its approximately three-hour journey to San Antonio, they opened the doors to find 48 of the aliens were either already dead or dying, including the pregnant woman. Sixteen of the aliens were transported to hospitals — five of whom died.

In addition to their sentences described above, the court also ordered Orduna-Torres to pay a $96,000 judgment and ordered the forfeiture of the following assets: One 2008 Volvo semi-tractor; one 1995 Phoenix trailer; one 2015 Cadillac Escalade; one 2017 Ford F-350 Super Duty Truck; and $59,445.50.

Five other defendants in this case have pleaded guilty for their involvement in the smuggling event. Riley Covarrubias-Ponce, also known as Rrili and Rilay, 32, is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 6; Luis Alberto Rivera-Leal, 39, is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13; Christian Martinez, 31, is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 20; and Homero Zamorano Jr., 48, is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 4. Juan Francisco D’Luna Bilbao, 51, is indicted separately and is also scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 4.

In a related case, Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco, 48, allegedly worked with the HSO to smuggle aliens into the United States on the same fatal journey orchestrated by Orduna-Torres and his co-conspirators. He made his initial appearance in San Antonio on March 17, seven months after he was arrested in Guatemala, and is currently scheduled for a jury trial Sept. 29.

HSI investigated the case with the FBI and the ATF. It has received tremendous support from U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Border Patrol; ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; the San Antonio Police Department; the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office; the San Antonio Fire Department; the Marshall Police Department; and the Palestine Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Fuchs, Sarah Spears and Ray Gattinella for the Western District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhoods.

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.gov)