{"id":59148,"date":"2025-06-27T12:28:36","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T19:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=59148"},"modified":"2025-06-27T12:29:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T19:29:31","slug":"two-men-convicted-in-the-deadliest-human-smuggling-case-in-history-sentenced-friday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=59148","title":{"rendered":"Two Men Convicted in the Deadliest Human Smuggling Case in History Sentenced"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"35\" data-end=\"259\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Two men convicted in the deadliest human smuggling case in U.S. history were sentenced Friday in federal court in San Antonio for their roles in a 2022 smuggling operation that killed 53 migrants \u2014 47 adults and six children, officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"261\" data-end=\"648\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia sentenced <strong data-start=\"306\" data-end=\"330\">Felipe Orduna-Torres<\/strong>, 30, to <strong data-start=\"339\" data-end=\"377\">life in prison and a $250,000 fine<\/strong>, and <strong data-start=\"383\" data-end=\"410\">Armando Gonzales-Ortega<\/strong>, 55, to <strong data-start=\"419\" data-end=\"461\">83 years in prison and a $250,000 fine<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"LIVE: Texas smugglers to be sentenced for 53 migrant deaths | FOX 7 NEWS\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yF55mERdhbg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"261\" data-end=\"648\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Both were convicted in March of transporting undocumented migrants resulting in death, serious injury, and endangerment. The sentencing was held on the third anniversary of the tragedy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"650\" data-end=\"1000\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Orduna-Torres, known by aliases such as &#8220;Cholo&#8221; and &#8220;Negro,&#8221; was a lead organizer in a human smuggling ring, while Gonzales-Ortega, aka \u201cEl Don,\u201d coordinated logistics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"4 charged as death toll rises to 53 in suspected human smuggling case l GMA\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Z90clQwHXeg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"650\" data-end=\"1000\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Between late 2021 and mid-2022, they smuggled migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico using stash houses, trailers, and shared smuggling routes to cut costs and boost profits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"1002\" data-end=\"1308\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">On June 27, 2022, Gonzales-Ortega helped load <strong data-start=\"1048\" data-end=\"1063\">64 migrants<\/strong>, including <strong data-start=\"1075\" data-end=\"1116\">eight children and one pregnant woman<\/strong>, into a tractor-trailer with a broken refrigeration unit. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"1002\" data-end=\"1308\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The three-hour journey to San Antonio ended in horror: <strong data-start=\"1230\" data-end=\"1259\">48 people were found dead<\/strong> in the trailer; <strong data-start=\"1276\" data-end=\"1307\">five more died at hospitals<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"1310\" data-end=\"1460\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Orduna-Torres was also ordered to forfeit $96,000 and multiple vehicles, including a <strong data-start=\"1395\" data-end=\"1416\">Cadillac Escalade<\/strong> and a <strong data-start=\"1423\" data-end=\"1437\">semi-truck<\/strong>, plus $59,445 in cash.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"1462\" data-end=\"1684\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Five other defendants have pleaded guilty and are set to be sentenced between November and December. Another alleged co-conspirator, <strong data-start=\"1595\" data-end=\"1623\">Rigoberto Miranda-Orozco<\/strong>, arrested in Guatemala, is scheduled for trial in September.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two men convicted in the deadliest human smuggling case in U.S. history were sentenced Friday in federal court in San Antonio for their roles in a 2022 smuggling operation that killed 53&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Two Men Convicted in the Deadliest Human Smuggling Case in History 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