Migrant Victims Killed In Trucks In Texas Rise Again, Two Mexican Citizens Charged With Indictments

Ilustrasi police line. (Wikimedia Commons/Tony Webster)

JAKARTA - The number of migrant victims who died after being trapped in a torrid truck in Texas has increased by one, bringing the total to 51 according to authorities, with two Mexicans linked to charges in US federal court.

The dead migrants, 39 men and 12 women, mostly Mexican nationals, were found Monday in an industrial area on the outskirts of San Antonio, Texas, about 160 miles (250 km) north of the US-Mexico border.

At least 27 Mexicans, three Guatemalans and four Hondurans are believed to be among the dead, according to officials from the three countries. There was no immediate information on the nationalities of the other victims.

The incident marked the largest loss of life on record from a human trafficking attempt in the United States, according to Craig Larrabee, the acting special agent in charge with the investigative arm of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Local authorities described finding the back door of the trailer open with a 'heap of bodies' inside, while others were strewn about collapsing nearby. Some victims felt hot to the touch, they said.

Two suspects identified as Juan Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao and Juan Claudio D'Luna-Mendez, both Mexican nationals, have been charged with possessing a firearm while living in the United States illegally, according to court documents and US authorities.

Investigators traced the truck's vehicle registration to a San Antonio address which they placed under surveillance, and arrested the two men separately as each was seen leaving the residence, Reuters reported June 29.

A third suspect, described as the US citizen who was driving the truck, has also been detained and is expected to be charged, but he remained hospitalized on Tuesday night, according to a Mexican official.

The truck was left parked beside some railroad tracks as temperatures soared to 103 Fahrenheit (39.4 Celsius). Local authorities said no sign of water or air conditioning was seen inside the truck.

"It's unspeakable," San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said on MSNBC, noting that his region relies on migrants amid a labor shortage.

"This is an inexplicable tragedy," he stressed.

Separately, US President Joe Biden in a statement on Tuesday, called the incident "terrible and heartbreaking."

"Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful," President Biden criticized, vowing to crack down on a multibillion-dollar criminal smuggling company that has helped fuel a record number of migrant crossings at the US-Mexico border since he took office in January 2021.

It said the truck was probably carrying around 100 migrants, but the exact number remained unclear, according to local and federal law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation.

It appears that the migrants recently crossed the border and were picked up by trucks to be taken to where they were going to work, according to a Mexican official, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official, and other U.S. officials, who all requested anonymity to discuss the matter.

The victims were found sprinkled with a sharp substance, officials said, a practice some smugglers are known to use to mask the smell of human cargo and avoid detection by dogs.

In this regard, surviving migrants may be released into the United States to seek asylum or other forms of humanitarian assistance, the CBP official and two other law enforcement officials told Reuters.