Bodies Discovered in Hot Truck Reveals Grim Reality of Smuggling Migrant Crisis
Written by Zamena Manekia Manji, Anchored by ZainabRights, Produced by Fatima El-Zein
When 53 migrants were found dead in the back of a hot truck in San Antonio, Texas, the grim reality of the dangers of human smuggling was brought to light. With TMJ News Network, Zainab Rights brings you the latest headline.
Transcript:
Truck driver Homero Zamorano and his correspondent Christian Martinezare have been charged in connection with the bodies discovered on a truck smuggling migrants in San Antonio, Texas on June 27th.
53 people were found dead in the truck including 40 men and 13 women. The truck was smuggling 60 migrants from Mexico to the US and was discovered in an industrial area.
Those found alive, including 4 children, were taken to a hospital. The bodies were in the back of the trailer truck traveling at a temperature of 100 degrees Farenheight (100F). Authorities said the migrants died suffering heatstroke and heat exhaustion after being left inside with no water or air conditioning.
The bodies were sprinkled with steak seasoning in an attempt to diminish the smell of the corpses.
According to a federal law document, some of the migrants attempted to escape the 18 – wheeler as dead bodies were also found several blocks away. The driver claims that he was unaware of the air conditioner not working which led to the deaths of 53 people. He will face lifetime imprisonment if convicted.
This was followed by another incident where at least 4 migrants were killed and 2 in critical condition in Encinal, Texas when the car smuggling the migrants crashed with a TNI Trucking vehicle.
Human traffickers are known to use trucks to transport undocumented migrants, usually for large sums of cash, after meeting them in remote areas once they have managed to cross into the United States. The migrants came from Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala desperate for a better life in the US, escaping poverty and desperation. Many perish while trying to make this dangerous journey.
Just in May, a record 239,000 undocumented migrants were detained crossing into the US from Mexico.
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