![[aggregator] downloaded image for imported item #95137](https://newsview.top/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/hsi-arrest-1024x576.png "EXCLUSIVE: Guatemalan nationals plead guilty to horrific human smuggling crash that killed 56, injured 100+")
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The Department of Homeland SecurityJosefa Quino Canil De Zavala and Alberto Marcario Chitic entered guilty pleas for conspiring to bringillegal immigrantsinto the United States, placing lives in jeopardy and resulting in death, according to DHS officials.
The two smugglers were among five Guatemalan nationalsextraditedto the United States in 2025 to face charges, while a sixth alleged co-conspirator was arrested in Texas.
SIX HUMAN SMUGGLERS ARRESTED IN CONNECTION TO 2021 CRASH THAT KILLED DOZENS
The pair were seen in a photo being arrested by Homeland Security Investigations agents.
Federal officials pointed to the crash as a tragic consequence of previous openborder policies.
“This is yet another example of how Biden’s open borders created a humanitarian crisis that allowed smugglers to profit off the deaths of illegal aliens,�“Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of ICE, these criminal aliens have pleaded guilty, and they will soon face justice.”
According to prosecutors, the Dec.9, 2021, crash involved a highly organized, profit-driven network that treated human beings “like a supply chain.”
FEDS BUST MASSIVE ALLEGED GUATEMALAN HUMAN SMUGGLING RING OPERATING OUT OF CALIFORNIA
Josefa Quino Canil De Zavala pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring and attempt to bring an illegal immigrant into the U.S., placing life in jeopardy, and causing serious bodily injury resulting in death, according to DHS officials.
The smugglers recruited migrants in Guatemala, collected their money, and packed them into cattle trucks andtractor-trailers for the treacherousjourney north toward the U.S.border.
The fatal wreck happened just north of the Guatemala-Mexico border.
Alberto Marcario Chitic pleaded guilty in relation to an illegal immigrant smuggling disaster that killed more than 50 people in Mexico in 2021.
“This tragic event shows that human smugglers do not care about the illegal aliens they come in contact with and transport despite the numerous risks, including extreme heat and dangerous travel conditions,” AssistantAttorney GeneralA.Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division wrote in a statement.
Acting U.S.Attorney John G.E.Marck for the Southern District of Texas highlighted the cold and calculated nature of the operation, revealing the smuggling network even “handed scripts to children so they could lie to law enforcement if caught entering the United States.”
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The successful prosecution was spearheaded by Joint Task Force Alpha, a specialized partnership between the Justice Department and DHS aimed at dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
To date, the task force’s efforts to combat the border crisis have resulted in more than 458 arrests and over 408 U.S.convictions of leaders and significant facilitators of illegal immigrant smuggling.
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