14 DEFENDANTS CHARGED IN DEADLY TEXAS HUMAN SMUGGLING OPERATION THAT LEFT SEVEN DEAD INSIDE SHIPPING CONTAINER

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — Federal prosecutors announced on November 9, 2026, that 14 individuals have been charged in connection with an international human smuggling operation linked to the deaths of seven migrants, including a 14-year-old child, who were transported inside a sealed shipping container aboard a Union Pacific freight train in May 2026. A federal grand jury in the Western District of Texas returned a superseding indictment alleging that the defendants participated in a coordinated smuggling network that transported migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border and into the United States for financial profit.

According to the Department of Justice, the 14 defendants include seven individuals unlawfully present in the United States, three other noncitizens, and four U.S. citizens. Eleven defendants were previously indicted in July 2026 before the superseding indictment expanded the case. Federal authorities allege that the criminal organization operated from at least April 2023 through May 12, 2026, coordinating transportation routes, guides, temporary holding locations, and drivers across multiple countries.

According to court documents, migrants or their families paid smugglers between $1,500 and $10,000 for transportation arrangements involving Honduras, Mexico, and the United States. After crossing the southern border, migrants were allegedly concealed in brush near the Rio Grande River or housed at locations around Del Rio, Texas, before being transported farther inland. The organization used freight trains and shipping containers to move people while attempting to avoid detection by law enforcement.

The deadly incident began developing in February 2026, when members of the organization allegedly arranged the transportation of at least seven migrants, including a 14-year-old Honduran child. On or about May 9, smugglers brought the group across the border into the Del Rio area and transported them to a location near Union Pacific railroad tracks. Between approximately 1:18 p.m. and 1:25 p.m., while a freight train was stationary, the smugglers allegedly used red bolt cutters to remove a lock from a Conex shipping container, placed all seven people inside, and secured the door.

The container was stacked above another shipping container and had no ventilation or cooling equipment. Recorded outdoor temperatures ranged from 88 to 92 degrees Fahrenheit that day. Investigators determined that the container was locked from the outside, leaving those trapped within unable to open the door. The train departed Del Rio and traveled east toward San Antonio along the U.S. Highway 90 corridor.

Federal prosecutors allege that when the train arrived in San Antonio, smugglers opened the container and discovered the occupants in life-threatening conditions. The individuals allegedly fled the scene, leaving one deceased victim near the railroad tracks and the remaining six inside the container. The train continued south toward Laredo the following day.

On May 10, a Union Pacific rail yard employee in Laredo noticed a person’s leg protruding from the shipping container. Authorities inspected the container and discovered six deceased individuals inside. Investigators in Laredo contacted federal agents in San Antonio, where law enforcement later located the seventh victim’s body abandoned near railroad tracks. Four victims were Mexican nationals, while three were Honduran nationals, including the 14-year-old child. Evidence gathered during the investigation revealed that at least one of the victims had sent a message to a loved one pleading for help before the deaths were discovered.

The 14 defendants named in the federal case are Karina Garcia, 37, of Del Rio; Edson Alejandro Perez, 18, of Del Rio; Seferino Huerta-Casillas, 35, of Mexico; Jonas Ulloa-Aguilera, 25, of Honduras; Mayra Alejandra Huerta, 32, of Del Rio; Maria Norma Neri de Moran, 56, of Mexico; Damian Huerta Analucas, 55, of Mexico; Rosario Cristal Lopez-Saldana, 26, of Mexico; Eric Hernandez, 40, of Eagle Pass, Texas; Franklin Williams Ayala Aguilera, 30, of Honduras; Pascual Raymundo Loarca, 34, of Guatemala; Juan Alvaro Membreno-Contreras, 40, of Honduras; Yuri Julissa Cuaresma Paredes, 34, of Honduras; and Mavis Aleyda Escalante Peraza, 38, of Honduras.

The superseding indictment charges 12 defendants with conspiracy to transport migrants resulting in death and aiding and abetting transportation resulting in death, offenses carrying a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment upon conviction. Eleven defendants face seven counts involving aiding and abetting the unlawful bringing of migrants into the United States. Conviction on at least three of those counts carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 15 years.

Additionally, 12 defendants face conspiracy charges involving the unlawful bringing of migrants into the United States under circumstances causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy, carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years. Eleven defendants are also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. The indictment does not establish that every defendant participated in every alleged act, and individual criminal responsibility will be determined through the federal judicial process.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division condemned the alleged operation for placing human lives at risk for financial gain. U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas emphasized that federal authorities have encountered multiple incidents involving migrants concealed aboard freight trains. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Antonio Special Agent in Charge John A. Pasciucco also identified the use of sealed cargo containers as a central feature of the alleged smuggling network.

The investigation has involved HSI offices in Del Rio, Laredo, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, and El Paso, along with international HSI personnel in Mexico and Honduras and the agency’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C. Additional assistance came from U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, the Texas Department of Public Safety, several Texas sheriff’s offices and police departments, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Union Pacific Railroad Police.

Trial Attorney Paige Petersen of the Justice Department’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Spears, Todd Keagle, and Ashley Ellis-Dotson are prosecuting the case for the Western District of Texas.

The prosecution is supported by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), a Justice Department initiative focused on disrupting transnational human smuggling and trafficking networks throughout the Americas. According to the department, JTFA-supported operations have resulted in more than 486 domestic and international arrests, over 447 federal convictions, and more than 374 significant jail sentences since the initiative began. The case also falls under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, which coordinates federal, state, and local investigations targeting organized criminal networks involved in smuggling and related offenses.

All 14 defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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