LAREDO, Texas (AP) — On Wednesday, Daniel Zavala Ramos, a 42-year-old Guatemalan man, pleaded guilty in federal court to a serious felony connected to an illegal migrant smuggling operation that resulted in a tragic vehicle crash in Mexico in 2021, which claimed the lives of more than 50 migrants.
During his court proceedings in U.S. District Court, Ramos confessed to participating in a conspiracy aimed at bringing undocumented migrants from Guatemala through Mexico into the United States, thereby placing their lives at risk, which led to serious harm and fatalities. The Justice Department has stated that Ramos now faces a substantial sentence, potentially life in prison.
The sentencing is scheduled for July 7. Ramos is one of six Guatemalans charged in relation to the catastrophic crash of a semitrailer truck that occurred on December 9, 2021. He is the first defendant to enter a guilty plea; the other five are slated for a final pretrial conference on June 3.
The horrific incident involved the truck carrying nearly 160 migrants, many from Guatemala, that overturned after hitting a support structure for a pedestrian bridge in Mexico. Official reports noted that at least 53 people were killed and more than 100 injured, with footage showing the tragic aftermath inside the truck's crushed freight container.
The Department of Justice's statement highlighted that among the deceased were unaccompanied children.
The crash happened on a highway leading toward the Chiapas state capital, roughly 160 miles from the border between Mexico and Guatemala, and approximately 1,400 miles south of the U.S. border in Texas.
There were coordinated efforts that led to the arrests of Ramos and the five other defendants in 2024, marking the anniversary of the accident. Before facing charges in the U.S., Ramos was extradited from Guatemala in 2025, according to the DOJ.
Prosecutors described the scheme where these Guatemalan defendants conspired to smuggle individuals in exchange for payment. They also implemented deceptive strategies for smuggling unaccompanied children, instructing them on what to say to authorities if apprehended.
The smuggling operation facilitated the transport of migrants via various means including foot travel, microbuses, cattle trucks, and tractor trailers, utilizing platforms like Facebook Messenger to manage the logistics such as verifying identification documents necessary for getting migrants into the U.S.
