Woman arrested in connection with deadly migrant train cases
LAREDO, Texas - A Del Rio woman has been arrested in connection with a federal investigation into human smuggling tied to deadly migrant train cases in Laredo and San Antonio.
Mayra Huerta was charged with harboring illegal aliens, according to a federal complaint filed Wednesday.
Six people were found dead in a train car in Laredo Monday. A seventh body was found along railroad tracks in Bexar County. The sheriff's office believes all seven are connected.
The filing does not accuse Huerta of being responsible for the deaths.
Homeland Security investigation leads to ‘the Vega’
Court documents state that Homeland Security Investigations were looking into human smuggling in Del Rio, which led them to an area of Del Rio along the Rio Grande known as "the Vega."
The investigation took them to a home on Vega Verde Road, which court documents state was home to a known smuggler.
A search warrant was executed at the home on May 11 and court documents state investigators saw three people leave the home and cross the river into Mexico. Investigators also encountered Huerta at the home. Huerta was detained as a person of interest at that time. Investigators found several weapons and $53,000 in cash inside the home.
Huerta was interviewed by HSI special agents and border patrol agents where she stated she lived with her husband, a Mexican national, at the home on Vega Verge Road. She told investigators that her husband's son and nephew both live at the home as well, and are Mexican nationals, according to court documents.
Train box car smuggling
Six people were found dead inside a shipping container at a South Texas rail yard, including a 14-year-old boy, officials said Tuesday.
The victims, discovered Monday evening at the Union Pacific Railyard in North Laredo, include five males and one female. Investigators believe the group originated from Mexico and Honduras, according to a statement from Dr. Corinne Stern, the Webb County Medical Examiner.
What we know:
The investigation began Saturday afternoon when a relative in another state received a frantic text message from someone inside the shipping container. The sender reported that they were trapped in a boxcar, it was getting "very, very hot," and they were in physical distress.
Authorities estimate temperatures inside such airtight containers can reach between 120 and 150 degrees.
Although the San Antonio Police Department was dispatched following the call, they were sent to a location several miles away and found nothing. It is now believed the person who sent the distress message was among the six victims later found in Laredo.
Migrants found dead in boxcar
Sheriff’s officials said the train originated in Del Rio. Electronic sensors, which alert the railroad when a container door is opened, were triggered in Del Rio, Laredo, and San Antonio.
During the news conference on Thursday, Laredo city officials said the six people found in the boxcar died hours before reaching Laredo. They also said they died of heat stroke.
The seventh victim was found after railroad police and federal agents began patrolling the tracks in San Antonio, following up on a sensor alert from the weekend. Investigators believe smugglers, known as "coyotes," may have opened the door from the outside in San Antonio.
Investigators from the Department of Homeland Security have taken over the investigation, according to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.
What they're saying:
"The fact that a sensor hit from here indicates someone opened that from outside," said a Bexar County spokesperson. "Our belief at this point is that it was most likely smugglers that opened it from the outside at some point discovered this body and then, for whatever reason, dumped him out to avoid accountability".
The train was later split, with half of the cars sent to Houston and the other half to Laredo, where the six bodies were recovered.
Identification and Cause of Death
In Laredo, Webb County Medical Examiner Dr. Corinne Stern has positively identified five of the six victims found Sunday:
- A 14-year-old male from Honduras
- A 24-year-old male from Honduras
- A 29-year-old female from Mexico (confirmed cause of death: hyperthermia)
- A 45-year-old male from Mexico
- A 56-year-old male from Mexico
While formal examinations for the others are pending, Dr. Stern stated it is "highly probable" that hyperthermia was the cause of death for the entire group. The Bexar County Medical Examiner is currently working to determine the cause of death for the seventh victim found Monday.
The Source: Information in this article comes from court documents filed in the Western District of Texas and previous Fox Local reporting.