A Guatemalan national admitted guilt on Wednesday in a federal court in the United States of America, acknowledging his role in an illegal migrant smuggling operation linked to a 2021 truck incident in Mexico that claimed more than 50 lives.
The suspect, 42-year-old Daniel Zavala Ramos, entered a guilty plea before a U.S. District Court in Laredo, Texas, to a felony charge of conspiring to transport undocumented migrants from Guatemala through Mexico into the United States.
The United States Department of Justice said the offence involved endangering lives and resulted in serious injuries and fatalities. He could face life imprisonment.
The court has fixed July 7 for sentencing.
Ramos is one of six Guatemalan nationals indicted in connection with the fatal crash and is the first to be convicted.
The remaining five defendants are scheduled for a final pretrial conference on June 3, according to court documents.
His lawyer had not responded to requests for comment as of Wednesday evening.
Authorities said no fewer than 160 migrants, many of them Guatemalans, were crammed into the trailer when it collided with the base of a pedestrian bridge on December 9, 2021, before overturning.
The incident left at least 53 people dead and over 100 others injured. Footage from the scene showed victims piled inside the wrecked cargo compartment.
The Justice Department noted that some of those who died were unaccompanied minors.
The crash occurred along a highway leading to the capital of Chiapas state, roughly 160 miles (260 kilometres) from Mexico’s border with Guatemala and about 1,400 miles (2,300 kilometres) south of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Officials confirmed that Ramos and the other suspects were arrested in Guatemala and Texas in 2024, marking the third anniversary of the tragedy. He was later extradited to the United States in 2025 to stand trial, according to the Justice Department.
Prosecutors revealed that the group organised a network to smuggle migrants from Guatemala through Mexico into the United States in exchange for payment. In cases involving unaccompanied children, the suspects allegedly provided them with scripted responses to use if apprehended.
Investigators added that migrants were transported using various methods, including travelling on foot, in minibuses, cattle trucks, and tractor-trailers. The group also reportedly used Facebook Messenger to send identification documents to migrants to facilitate their entry into the United States.
