Driver truck with dead migrants did not know about broken air conditioning | Abroad

According to the co-defendant, who was also arrested, “the driver was not aware that the air conditioning was no longer working and that is why the people died.” The two are said to have sent each other several text messages about this before and after the dead migrants were found.

According to authorities, Homero Zamorano was found on Monday trying to hide in bushes near the truck. He allegedly tried to pose as one of the survivors. However, Zamorano was arrested after CCTV footage showed him driving the truck past a U.S. Customs checkpoint in the border town of Laredo, in southwestern Texas.

The suspected driver and his helper are both suspected of human smuggling and conspiracy and face the death penalty in Texas. In addition to Zamorano and his accomplice, two others have been arrested. It concerns two men of Mexican nationality. They were arrested on suspicion of illegal possession of firearms and illegal residence in the United States.

The 53 migrants who died, all from Central American countries, were discovered by the US immigration service on the outskirts of the South Texas city of San Antonio, about 250 kilometers from the Mexican border. The outside temperature at that time was 39.4 degrees Celsius. It is the deadliest human trafficking incident in US history. Several children are still being treated in hospital.

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