11 charged in Texas for deaths of 7 migrants found in sweltering rail container

Federal prosecutors in Texas have indicted 11 individuals in connection with the deaths of seven migrants who perished from heatstroke inside a sealed shipping container in May. The migrants, including a 14-year-old boy, were from Honduras and Mexico.

Six bodies were discovered in a Union Pacific shipping container at a Laredo, Texas, rail yard. A seventh victim was pronounced dead by traffickers near the tracks in San Antonio after the container was opened. Authorities believe the train originated in the Texas border city of Del Rio.

Justin R. Simmons, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, stated that surviving in a sealed, airless container under the prevailing temperatures would have been extremely difficult. The victims had reportedly paid between $1,500 and $10,000 to individuals in Honduras, Mexico, and the United States for transportation into the U.S.

The unauthorized transport of migrants aboard trains has long been a concern. Trains heading to the U.S. often slow down or stop in Mexico, creating opportunities for smugglers to place migrants or contraband onto the trains before they cross the border.