The case, prosecuted in the Southern District of Texas, stems from a 2021 tractor-trailer crash in Mexico that killed dozens, including children, during an alien-smuggling operation
Two Guatemalan nationals have pleaded guilty for their roles in an alien-smuggling conspiracy that led to a 2021 tractor-trailer crash in Mexico that killed more than 50 people, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS said the guilty pleas, entered June 11, 2026, followed an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. According to the agency, Josefa Quino Canil De Zavala and Alberto Marcario Chitic pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring an illegal alien into the United States in a way that placed life in jeopardy, caused serious bodily injury, and resulted in death.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, the incident occurred on December 9, 2021, when the defendants and their co-conspirators arranged for a large group of people to be loaded into a tractor-trailer to be transported across Mexico and smuggled into the United States. The vehicle crashed north of the Guatemala-Mexico border, killing 56 people — including children — and injuring more than 100.
DHS said the two defendants, along with three other Guatemalan nationals, were extradited to the United States in 2025 to face charges, and that a sixth co-conspirator was arrested in Texas.
A Profit-Driven Operation
Prosecutors described an organized, profit-driven smuggling network. “The defendants ran a calculated alien smuggling operation that moved people across borders like a supply chain — recruiting them in Guatemala, collecting their money, and packing them into cattle trucks and tractor-trailers for a dangerous journey through Mexico,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck for the Southern District of Texas. He said the operation even handed children scripts to recite to law enforcement if caught, and that the convictions show the district will work to shut down such networks.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said the case illustrates the dangers of human smuggling. “Human smugglers do not care about the illegal aliens they come in contact with and transport despite the numerous risks, including extreme heat and dangerous travel conditions,” he said, noting the operators packed more than 100 people into the trailer to maximize profit.
ICE HSI Acting Executive Associate Director John Condon said the case reflects the agency’s commitment to dismantling transnational criminal organizations that exploit vulnerable people for profit. In a statement, Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said the prosecutions were the result of HSI’s work and attributed the broader smuggling crisis to the prior administration’s border policies.
A Multi-Agency Effort
DHS said the investigation was led by HSI in partnership with HSI Guatemala and HSI Mexico, with assistance from numerous agencies including HSI Houston, HSI Laredo, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Border Patrol, as well as Guatemalan and Mexican prosecutors. The agency said the case is being prosecuted under Joint Task Force Alpha, a Justice Department and DHS effort targeting human smuggling and trafficking networks, which it said has resulted in more than 458 arrests and over 408 U.S. convictions to date.
