Two more men plead guilty in US for deadly 2021 human-smuggling truck crash

A federal court in Texas has secured guilty pleas from two men involved in a human smuggling operation that culminated in one of the deadliest migrant tragedies in recent years. Jorge Agapito Ventura, 34, and Oswaldo Manuel Zavala Quino, 26, admitted to conspiring to transport undocumented adults and unaccompanied minors from Guatemala toward the United States. According to prosecutors, the pair treated more than 150 people as commercial cargo, prioritizing profit over safety.

The case stems from a December 2021 incident in which approximately 166 migrants were crammed into a single tractor-trailer bound for the US. Survivors reported being packed so densely that most could only stand. The vehicle overturned near Tuxtla Gutierrez in the Mexican state of Chiapas, colliding with a pedestrian bridge. The crash killed 55 people, including a 16-year-old girl, and injured more than 100 others. Authorities determined the driver was speeding through a sharp curve when control was lost.

Ventura allegedly orchestrated portions of the smuggling network from his home in Cleveland, Texas, part of the Houston area. He provided co-conspirators with scripts containing false statements that migrants could present to US immigration authorities if apprehended. He also arranged for individuals to pose as family members to assist detainees seeking release. Zavala Quino was extradited from Guatemala in 2025 to face charges, while Ventura was arrested in Texas in December 2024.

Many migrants aboard the truck had departed impoverished Guatemalan communities seeking employment in the United States. Some families sold their homes to pay smugglers, viewing the perilous journey as their most viable path to economic improvement. With these guilty pleas, five of six Guatemalan nationals charged in the case have now admitted culpability. Three others entered guilty pleas earlier in the year, with one case still pending.