Two more men plead guilty in US for deadly 2021 human-smuggling truck crash

Five Guatemalan nationals have now plead guilty in the migrant smuggling case linked to the deaths of 55 migrants.Two more Guatemalan men have pleaded guilty in the United States to charges related to a human smuggling operation that resulted in a 2021 truck crash in southern Mexico, killing 55 migrants.Jorge Agapito Ventura, 34, and Oswaldo Manuel Zavala Quino, 26, admitted in a Texas federal court on Wednesday that they conspired to smuggle adults and unaccompanied children from Guatemala north to the US. Both face up to life in prison when they are sentenced in October.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Migrants march in southern Mexico to denounce immigration restrictionslist 2 of 4At least 54 killed as truck carrying migrants crashes in Mexicolist 3 of 4Deadly Mexico crash: ‘He’s not going to come back with me alive’list 4 of 4Families of Guatemalan migrants killed in crash want answersend of list“These defendants treated more than 150 people as cargo, packing them into a tractor-trailer for profit with total disregard for human life,” US Attorney John E Marck said in a statement.The charges stem from a December 2021 incident that authorities have described as one of the deadliest human smuggling tragedies in recent memory.About 166 migrants had been packed into a tractor-trailer headed for the US, squeezed so tight that most only had room to stand, according to survivors. The truck overturned and crashed into the base of a pedestrian bridge near Tuxtla Gutierrez, in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.Fifty-five people were killed, including a 16-year-old girl, and more than 100 were injured, according to the US Department of Justice.At the time, officials said the driver, who fled the scene, appeared to have been speeding when he lost control of the vehicle while navigating a sharp curve.Prosecutors say Ventura and Zavala Quino were part of a conspiracy to smuggle migrants into the US in exchange for payment.