SAN ANTONIO, TX – Another individual has admitted guilt in connection with the deadliest human-smuggling incident in U.S. history, which resulted in the deaths of 53 migrants in a tractor-trailer.
Riley Covarrubias-Ponce, 31, has pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to his involvement in a human smuggling organization responsible for illegally transporting 66 adults and children from various Central American countries into the United States. Court documents indicated that Covarrubias-Ponce, a Mexican national, assisted in coordinating the transportation of migrants in a tractor-trailer from Laredo to San Antonio, where the majority of the migrants were discovered deceased on June 27, 2022, due to inadequate ventilation in the scorching triple-digit heat.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Texas, Covarrubias-Ponce pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death, conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy, transportation of illegal aliens resulting in death, and transportation of illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury. He faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.
Regrettably, this is not an isolated incident. In a similar case, Christian Martinez, 29, pleaded guilty to charges for his involvement in the deadly smuggling attempt. Martinez, residing in suburban Houston, was responsible for driving the trailer to San Antonio and maintaining communication with the group to monitor its progress.
Furthermore, Juan Francisco D’Luna Bilbao also pleaded guilty to the same charges as Covarrubias-Ponce and Martinez, in addition to a firearms charge. The cases of the four other defendants, including the tractor-trailer driver, are still pending.
The guilty pleas from individuals involved in this tragic event shed light on the dangerous and often deadly consequences of human smuggling operations. The ongoing legal proceedings serve as an important reminder of the human cost of such criminal activities, as well as the need for continued vigilance and law enforcement efforts to prevent future tragedies.