SAN ANTONIO – On June 27, 2022, 53 people were killed in a semitrailer smuggling incident that San Antonio Police Chief William McManus called the largest mass casualty event in San Antonio that he could remember.
The truck carried 67 migrants who traveled from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, according to Mexico’s National Immigration Institute.
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The group was left abandoned in sweltering heat inside the semitrailer off the side of Quintana Road, located on the Southwest Side.
Three years later, two people arrested in connection with the case will be the first to be brought to trial over the tragedy.
Here’s a timeline of the ongoing case:
- June 27, 2022:
- Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) responded to a semitrailer on the city’s Southwest Side after receiving calls from concerned citizens. HSI confirmed 48 individuals were dead at the scene. Sixteen more were taken to local hospitals.
- Homero Zamorano Jr. was found hiding in nearby brush and was detained at the scene.
- Juan Francisco D’Luna-Bilbao and Juan Claudio D’Luna-Mendez were taken into custody for having the semitrailer registered at their residence. A search warrant was issued, and the men were found in possession of illegal firearms.
- June 28, 2022:
- Bexar County officials confirmed the death toll had risen to 51 people as three others were pronounced dead at local hospitals.
- Christian Martinez was arrested in Palestine, Texas, on a charge of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death. He was connected to the case through text messages with Zamorano regarding the smuggling.
- June 29, 2022:
- The death toll rose to 53 as two more victims died in area hospitals.
- Zamorano was arrested on criminal charges related to his alleged involvement in alien smuggling resulting in death. He was identified as the driver of the semitrailer from surveillance footage captured by Laredo Border Patrol.
- July 2, 2022: The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office identified 19 of the 53 victims. Eight were Mexican citizens, six were from Guatemala and five were from Honduras.
- July 3, 2022: Two child victims were named by Guatemala’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- June 27, 2023: Four Mexican nationals were arrested in connection to the smuggling operation. Reily Covarrubias-Ponce, Felipe Orduna-Torres, Luis Alberto Rivera-Leal and Armando Gonzales-Ortega were arrested on the first anniversary of the tragedy.
- Sept. 27, 2023: Christian Martinez pleaded guilty to multiple charges.
- Jan. 18, 2024: Riley Covarrubias-Ponce pleaded guilty to four charges in a federal court.
- Feb. 18, 2024: Luis Alberto Rivera-Leal pleaded guilty, marking the fourth suspect in the case to plead guilty. Juan Francisco D’Luna Bilbaro had also pleaded guilty.
- Jan. 16, 2025: Homero Zamorano Jr., the tractor-trailer driver, pleaded guilty to multiple charges. His sentencing is scheduled for April 24, 2025.
- March 3, 2025: Jury selection begins for the federal trials of Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzales-Ortega. The two men are the first connected to this case to be brought to trial.
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