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image source, Archyde.com
Homero Zamorano, 45, has been charged in the deaths of the 53 migrants in San Antonio.
Four days following the discovery of dozens of dead migrants in a trailer in Texas, Homero Zamorano is facing a judicial process that might see him spend the rest of his life in jail or even face the death penalty.
The 45-year-old American was the driver behind the vehicle that killed at least 53 people. It is the largest case of deceased migrants in the US on record.
Zamorano has already received federal charges for “trafficking of foreigners with fatal result”reported the US Department of Justice.
“If convicted, Zamorano faces life in prison or possibly the death penalty,” it says.
Along with him, another American, Christian Martínez, faces the same charges. Two Mexicans, Juan Claudio D’Luna Méndez and Juan Francisco D’Luna Bilbao, are being processed under different charges for their possible participation in the fatal incident.
As the investigation has progressed, more details have emerged regarding who Zamorano is and why he is held responsible for the tragedy that has put dozens of families in mourning in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
What is known regarding Zamorano?
Zamorano, 45, is originally from Brownsville, a Texas city that borders Mexico.
Relatives have pointed out that from a very young age he made his life apart from them and that they knew that he frequently got into trouble. He allegedly worked as a maintenance guy in Houston.
image source, Archyde.com
Zamorano had his first appearance before a judge on Thursday.
“He was lost for years and appeared from time to time. He basically raised himself,” one of his brothers-in-law told the newspaper. The Texas Tribune.
“He has always had a problem with drugs,” Zamorano’s sister, Tomasita Medina, told the newspaper. Los Angeles Times. “He was always in and out of our lives because of it.”
According to Congressman Henry Cuellar, who has accessed details of the investigation, a toxicology test following the incident showed that Zamorano had used methamphetamine, a powerful synthetic drug.
What is known regarding his participation?
On June 27, Zamorano drove the trailer in which the migrants appeared on the route that goes from Laredo, on the border, to San Antonio, a journey of regarding 250 km.
It was caught on camera at a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspection point regarding 50 km away from Laredo.
image source, INAMI
Passing through the CBP review filter in Encinal, the driver was captured by security cameras.
However, the vehicle was not properly inspected. The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, assured that this happened “because the Border Patrol does not have the resources to be able to inspect all the trucks.”
Hours later, when the migrants were found, Zamorano “was found hiding in the bush following trying to escape,” according to the Justice Department investigation.
He was initially helped by emergency services, but was later detained by San Antonio police.
The investigation has revealed that Zamorano apparently did not know that the air conditioning in the trailer was not working. The migrants were in the vehicle with minimal ventilation on a day that touched 40 ° C in the shade.
Emergency responders who found the dead migrants said they were “hot to the touch.”
According to charging documents, Christian Martinez sent Zamorano cell phone messages directing him to the location of a smugglers’ safe house where he picked up migrants in Laredo.
En route to San Antonio, the driver no longer responded to messages.
It was through a review of Zamorano’s phone that the authorities found the other alleged accomplices.
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