Guatemala extradites smuggler to US for death of 53 migrants

Guatemala extradited a Guatemalan man to the United States on Friday. He is accused of leading a human smuggling ring linked to the death of 53 migrants in a truck trailer in Texas in 2022.

"[Guatemala] has successfully concluded the operation for extradition purposes" of Rigoberto Miranda, Penitentiary System Director Sergio Vela told reporters. He specified that Miranda, 48 years old, was transferred in an aircraft from the capital's La Aurora Airport, required by the U.S. justice system for "charges related to human trafficking."

In turn, the U.S. embassy posted on X that Miranda, "implicated in the death of 53 migrants in Texas (2022), was extradited to face justice for human smuggling."

Miranda was handcuffed on the aircraft by U.S. agents.

He is accused of being the leader of the gang Los Orozcos, dedicated "to the trafficking of migrants to the United States," according to the Guatemalan Interior Ministry. Guatemalan authorities captured him on Aug. 21 in the western department of San Marcos, on the border with Mexico.

Following his capture, a criminal court authorized his extradition to the United States on Nov. 11, accusing him of leading the organization that smuggled the migrants, who died on June 27, 2022, into the United States.

According to U.S. authorities, the 53 migrants died from hyperthermia and acute dehydration while traveling in an unventilated trailer. Of the total passengers, only 11 survived.

Four Mexican nationals have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the deaths of the 53 people from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

When the smugglers opened the trailer after a nearly three-hour journey to San Antonio, 48 migrants, including a pregnant woman, were dead. 16 were taken to hospitals, but an additional five of them died.

Miranda and the others arrested in the case could face life imprisonment in the United States.