Federal prosecutors secured indictments from a grand jury Wednesday against two men charged with orchestrating the smuggling operation that left 53 migrants, including three children, dead in San Antonio last month.
Prosecutors also won indictments on firearms charges against two Mexican men found at a residence tied to the truck that was used.
Homero Zamorano, 46, was found trying to escape the death site on a city side street. Investigators said they determined he was the driver after checking footage of the truck crossing through a Border Patrol highway checkpoint earlier in the day.
Agents went through his phone and found conversations with Christian Martinez, 28, who prosecutors say was the smuggling coordinator.
According to investigators, Mr. Martinez said the cooling unit on the truck trailer failed. Temperatures that day had topped 100 degrees in San Antonio.
Police, alerted to the scene by 911 calls, found 64 suspected illegal immigrants. Of those, 53 died — including three juveniles — and the others were injured. Among the injured was one juvenile.
Both Mr. Martinez and Mr. Zamorano face charges that could carry the death penalty, though Attorney General Merrick Garland has yet to decide whether to seek that punishment in these cases.
The two Mexican men, meanwhile, appear to be collateral arrests. They were nabbed separately as they came out of a residence linked to the truck trailer.
One was found in possession of a firearm in the vehicle he was driving, and other firearms were found inside the residence where the two men had been, authorities said.
Illegal immigrants are prohibited from possessing guns. That charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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