11 Indicted in Texas Human Smuggling Case After 7 Migrants Found Dead in Shipping Container

Jul 25

3 min read

Shipping containers stacked at a yard with boxes and a fugitive poster showing Karina Garcia and Seferino Huerta Casillas

Northeast Radio SD News – National News - Del Rio, TX - Eleven people have been indicted in federal court for their alleged roles in a human smuggling operation that resulted in seven migrants being found dead inside a sealed shipping container in May, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

A federal grand jury in Del Rio returned the indictment as part of a Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) investigation. The case stems from an attempted smuggling operation that used cargo trains to move migrants deeper into the United States after they illegally crossed from Mexico.

Container opened with deceased smuggled aliens inside. Case number 26-CR-02066 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Defendants Charged

The indictment names the following 11 defendants:

· Karina García, 37, Del Rio, Texas

· Edson Alejandro Pérez, 18, Del Rio

· Seferino Huerta‑Casillas, 35, México

· Jonas Ulloa‑Aguilera, 25, Honduras

· Mayra Alejandra Huerta, 32, Del Rio

· Maria Norma Neri de Moran, 56, Mexico

· Damian Huerta Analucas, 55, Mexico

· Rosario Cristal López-Saldaña, 26, México

· Eric Hernandez, 40, Eagle Pass, Texas

· Franklin Williams Ayala Aguilera, 30, Honduras

· Pascual Raymundo Loarca, 34, Guatemala

All 11 defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death and one count of aiding and abetting transport of illegal aliens resulting in death. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.

Map depicting US-90 and the Union Pacific Railroad system between Del Rio to San Antonio. From the indictment in case number 26-CR-02066 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Alleged Smuggling Operation

According to the indictment, the smuggling organization operated from at least April 2023 through May 12, 2026. Migrants — or their families — allegedly paid between $1,500 and $10,000 to be smuggled from Mexico into the United States.

Toward the end of April 2026, the organization allegedly began facilitating the smuggling of at least seven migrants from Acuña, Mexico, into Del Rio. On May 9, smugglers reportedly transported the group to an area near Union Pacific train tracks.

Photo depicting broken seal from the Conex shipping container’s door. From the indictment in case number 26-CR-02066 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Investigators say that between 1:18 p.m. and 1:25 p.m., while a train was stationary, smugglers used red bolt cutters to remove the lock from a Conex shipping container. The seven migrants — including a 14‑year‑old child — were loaded inside and the door was shut.

The container, stacked on top of another, had no ventilation or cooling system. Outside temperatures that day ranged from 88 to 92 degrees. The door could not be opened from the inside.

Discovery in San Antonio and Laredo

The train traveled east toward San Antonio. When smugglers opened the container there, they found the migrants in distress and fled, leaving one deceased migrant near the tracks. The remaining migrants were left inside the container as the train continued south.

On May 10, a worker at the Union Pacific Rail Yard in Laredo saw a leg protruding from the container. Six migrants were found deceased inside. Later, San Antonio authorities located the seventh deceased migrant near the railroad tracks.

In total, seven migrants died — four Mexican nationals and three Honduran nationals, including the 14‑year‑old child. Investigators say at least one migrant sent a message to a loved one pleading for help.

Red bolt cutters used to open the Conex shipping container’s door. From the indictment in case number 26-CR-02066 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Arrests and Ongoing Search

Mayra Alejandra Huerta was arrested May 12 in Del Rio and initially charged with harboring illegal aliens. She remains in federal custody and now faces two charges in the indictment.

Eight additional defendants were arrested last week during a multi‑day HSTF operation across central and south Texas.

Two defendants — Karina Garcia and Seferino Huerta‑Casillas — remain at large.

Photos of Karina Garcia, a U.S. Citizen, and Seferino Huerta Casillas, a Mexican national, who remain at large.

Homeland Security Task Force

The case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative created under Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The task force includes agents from multiple federal, state, and local agencies and focuses on dismantling cartels, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling networks.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas announced the indictment. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Spears, Todd Keagle, and Ashley Ellis‑Dotson are prosecuting the case.

Federal officials emphasize that an indictment is only an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

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