A 42-year-old Guatemalan national, Daniel Zavala Ramos, pleaded guilty on Wednesday in federal court in Laredo, Texas, admitting his role in a smuggling scheme tied to a 2021 tractor-trailer crash in Mexico that killed more than 50 people. Ramos entered a guilty plea to a single count alleging conspiracy to transport undocumented migrants from Guatemala through Mexico toward the United States and to actions that placed lives in jeopardy and caused serious injury and death, the U.S. Department of Justice said. He faces a possible life sentence; sentencing is scheduled for July 7.
Ramos is the first of six Guatemalan defendants charged in connection with the semitrailer crash to be convicted. The remaining five defendants have a final pretrial conference set for June 3, according to court records. Ramos’ lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Authorities say the truck was carrying at least 160 migrants, many of them Guatemalan, when it struck the support for a pedestrian bridge on Dec. 9, 2021, overturned and collapsed. At least 53 people died and more than 100 were injured; video from the scene showed bodies and wounded migrants inside the crushed freight container. Officials said the dead included unaccompanied children.
The wreck occurred on a highway headed toward Tuxtla Gutiérrez, the capital of Chiapas state, roughly 160 miles (260 kilometers) from Mexico’s border with Guatemala and about 1,400 miles (2,300 kilometers) south of the U.S.‑Texas border.
Authorities announced arrests of Ramos and five others in Guatemala and Texas in 2024 on the third anniversary of the crash. Ramos was extradited from Guatemala in 2025 to face federal charges, the DOJ said.
Prosecutors allege the group conspired to smuggle migrants for payment, moving people by foot, microbus, cattle truck and tractor-trailer. In some cases involving unaccompanied children, defendants reportedly provided scripted statements for the children to use if stopped. Investigators also say smugglers used Facebook Messenger to arrange and deliver identity documents intended to facilitate entry into the United States.