Guatemalan Man Pleads Guilty in Fatal 2021 Mexico Smuggling Crash
A 42-year-old Guatemalan, Daniel Zavala Ramos, admitted guilt in a U.S. federal court on April 8. He pleaded to conspiracy charges tied to a human smuggling operation that ended in a deadly crash. On December 9, 2021, an overloaded tractor-trailer carrying at least 160 migrants struck a bridge support near Tuxtla Gutiérrez in Chiapas. The accident killed 53 people, including unaccompanied children, and injured over 100. Extradited from Guatemala in 2025, Ramos faces life in prison. Prosecutors say he and five co-conspirators used Facebook Messenger to coordinate documents and scripts for minors. His sentencing is set for July 7, and pretrial hearings for the other defendants continue on June 3.
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