SAN ANTONIO (AP) — So far, six of the 53 migrants discovered dead or dying in a tractor-trailer in Texas last week have been identified, he said Wednesday.
The Bexar County medical examiner’s office said 22 of them came from Mexico, 19 from Guatemala and six from Honduras.
The migrants were found in a deserted caravan on June 27 on a side road outside San Antonio. The alleged driver of the truck was due to appear in federal court Wednesday for a detention hearing.
Among the dead were a Guatemalan man aged 13 and 14 and two Mexicans aged 16, the medical examiner said.
One survivor of the trip, a 20-year-old Guatemalan woman, told The Associated Press that smugglers covered the floor of the trailer with what she believes to be powdered bird broth, to get rid of the dogs at the checkpoint.
The truck was carrying a total of 73 other people when it was discovered on June 27. Federal prosecutors said 4 other people were arrested in connection with the discovery of the truck, adding the driver.
Guatemala’s investigation into smuggling networks is proceeding slowly, Stuardo Campo, the prosecutor overseeing the case.
“So far, there were 4 smuggling structures involved in this case,” Campo said. His office works with opposing numbers in Mexico and with the U. S. Department of Homeland Security.
Guatemala’s Foreign Ministry said most of the country’s 22 patients came from the San Marcos branch, which borders Mexico.
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