Eleven people have been indicted in Texas for their alleged roles in a human smuggling ring that left seven migrants — including a 14-year-old child — dead inside a locked, unventilated rail shipping container.

A federal grand jury in Del Rio returned the indictment following an investigation by a U.S. Homeland Security Task Force, prosecutors announced.

All 11 defendants face one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death and one count of aiding and abetting the transport of illegal aliens resulting in death. If convicted, each faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

According to court documents, the smuggling organization operated from at least April 2023 through May 12, 2026, using freight trains to transport migrants further into the United States after they illegally crossed the border from Mexico. Migrants or their families paid the ring between $1,500 and $10,000 US per person.

U.S. authorities allege that in late April 2026, the group facilitated the movement of seven migrants from Acuña, Mexico, into the Del Rio area. On May 9, smugglers took the group — four Mexican nationals and three Honduran nationals — to a stationary Union Pacific train.

Using red bolt cutters, the smugglers allegedly cut the lock off a Conex shipping container stacked on top of another unit, loaded the seven individuals inside, and shut the door. The container was secured from the outside and could not be opened from the inside.

Prosecutors noted the container lacked any ventilation or cooling system, while outside temperatures ranged between 31 C and 33 C (88 F to 92 F). During the ordeal, at least one migrant sent a distress message to a relative pleading for help.

The train traveled east along U.S. Highway 90 to San Antonio. Upon arrival, smugglers opened the container and discovered the occupants in severe distress. The smugglers fled, allegedly leaving one deceased migrant by the tracks and leaving the remaining six inside the container.

The train subsequently departed south toward Laredo, Texas. On May 10, a worker at a Laredo rail yard spotted a leg extending from the container and alerted authorities, who found six bodies inside. San Antonio law enforcement later discovered the seventh victim near the tracks.

Nine of the defendants are currently in federal custody, including Mayra Alejandra Huerta, 32, who was arrested May 12 in Del Rio, and eight others arrested during a multi-day task force operation across central and south Texas. Two defendants — Karina Garcia, 37, of Del Rio, and Seferino Huerta-Casillas, 35, of Mexico — remain at large.

The other defendants charged in the indictment are:

• Edson Alejandro Perez, 18, of Del Rio, Texas;
• Jonas Ulloa-Aguilera, 25, of Honduras;
• Maria Norma Neri de Moran, 56, of Mexico;
• Damian Huerta Analucas, 55, of Mexico;
• Rosario Cristal Lopez-Saldana, 26, of Mexico;
• Eric Hernandez, 40, of Eagle Pass, Texas;
• Franklin Williams Ayala Aguilera, 30, of Honduras; and
• Pascual Raymundo Loarca, 34, of Guatemala.

The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Spears, Todd Keagle, and Ashley Ellis-Dotson are prosecuting the case.

The prosecution stems from the Homeland Security Task Force, a multi-agency initiative established under Executive Order 14159 aimed at dismantling transnational criminal organizations, cartels, and human trafficking networks.