美国联邦政府对11人提起起诉，指控他们参与人口走私活动导致7名移民丧生 [1]。受害者包括一名14岁男孩，来自洪都拉斯和墨西哥 [1]。
事件发生在5月，6具尸体在德州拉雷多的铁路货运集装箱中被发现，第7名遇难者遗弃在圣安东尼奥附近 [1]。根据调查，集装箱内温度达88至92华氏度（31至33摄氏度），没有通风或冷却系统 [1]。韦伯县医学检查官怀疑死因为热射病 [1]。
根据起诉指控，移民支付了1,500美元至10,000美元给来自洪都拉斯、墨西哥和美国等地的走私分子 [1]。被告被控密谋运输导致死亡的移民和协助运输导致死亡的移民，均可面临终身监禁 [1]。
被起诉的11人中，4人是美国公民，2人是美国永久居民，5人非法进入美国，其中2人在逃 [1]。第一名被告于5月12日在德里奥被捕，其余8人于上周在德州中部和南部被捕 [1]。
这起案件与2022年德州发生的一起拖车走私事件相关联，那起事件导致53名移民死亡，是美国-墨西哥边境最致命的走私事件，2名走私分子因此被判无期徒刑 [1]。
Federal prosecutors have charged eleven people in connection with a human trafficking operation that resulted in deaths during an attempted smuggling operation in Texas. [1][2]
Seven migrants died in a rail cargo container in Laredo, Texas in May, including a 14-year-old boy. [1] Six bodies were discovered inside the container, while one person was abandoned near San Antonio. [1] The victims were from Honduras and Mexico. [1][2]
The container reached temperatures between 88 and 92 degrees Fahrenheit (31-33 degrees Celsius) and lacked ventilation or cooling systems, with the Webb County Medical Examiner suspecting heat stroke as the cause of death. [1]
The migrants paid between $1,500 and $10,000 to smugglers operating across Honduras, Mexico, and the United States to arrange their transport. [1]
Among the eleven defendants, four are U.S. citizens, two are permanent residents, five entered the country illegally, and two remain at large. [1] The first defendant was arrested on May 12 in Del Rio, while the remaining eight were apprehended in central and south Texas the following week. [1]
All defendants face charges of conspiracy to transport migrants resulting in death and assisting in the transportation of migrants resulting in death, each carrying a potential sentence of life imprisonment. [1]
The case echoes the 2022 San Antonio trailer smuggling incident, in which 53 migrants died—the deadliest human trafficking event on the U.S.-Mexico border—resulting in two smugglers receiving life sentences. [1]