The horrific human trafficking death toll from the abandoned tractor-trailer near San Antonio continues to climb. Meanwhile, law enforcement is making arrests in connection to the deaths. Two Mexican nationals have been arrested on firearms offenses and charged through separate criminal complaints for possession of firearms.
According to court documents filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas, Juan Francisco D’Luna-Bilbao and Juan Claudio D’Luna-Mendez, overstayed their B-2 visas and remained in the United States. A third man, believed to be the big rig’s driver, has also been arrested. He has been charged with human smuggling. D’Luna-Bilbao and D’Luna-Mendez are being held without bond at the request of federal prosecutors. They face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 if convicted.
According to court documents, San Antonio police officers researched the Texas plate on the semi-truck trailer and found it registered to an address in the 100 block of Arnold Drive.
Officers established surveillance on the residence and observed a Hispanic male, later identified as D’Luna-Bilbao, leaving the home, driving alone in a Ford F-250. Officers conducted a traffic stop on the truck, and D’Luna-Bilbao informed the officers of a firearm in the truck’s center console, the complaint says. Officers found a Fratelli Tanfoglio model GT380, .380 handgun inside the vehicle.
Separately, officers also conducted a related traffic stop on a truck seen leaving the residence driven by another Hispanic male, later identified as D’Luna-Mendez, according to a second complaint.
The complaints say officers obtained a state search warrant for the residence. More firearms were recovered from D’Luna-Bilbao’s bedroom. They were listed as a Mossberg model 600AT, 12-gauge Any Other Weapon (NFA), and a Beretta model 800 Cougar F. 9mm handgun.
From D’Luna-Mendez’s bedroom, the complaint says an American Tactical Imports model Omni Hybrid, multi-caliber rifle, a German Sport Guns model GSG-5P, .22 caliber handgun, and a Smith & Wesson model M&P 9 Shield M2.0, 9mm handgun were also recovered.
Both men were interviewed by Homeland Security Investigations agents after being read their Miranda rights. Both admitted possession of firearms and overstaying their visas. The firearms were examined by ATF and they were determined to not be manufactured in Texas, so the guns were a part of interstate and/or foreign commerce.
The man believed to be the tractor-trailer’s driver, 45 year old Homero Zamorano, Jr. was allegedly “very high on meth” and posed as one of the survivors at the scene. He lives in suburban Houston and is originally from the Brownsville, Texas. He is scheduled for his first court appearance today. A 28 year old man, Christian Martinez, was arrested Wednesday and charged with conspiracy after allegedly communicating with Zamorano about transporting the illegal migrants. He was arrested in East Texas and will be transported to San Antonio.
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America’s deadliest smuggling episode on the US-Mexico border is a result of the Biden border crisis. Kamala Harris is supposed to be the border czar. Guess who Kamala blames for this human tragedy? Former President Trump, of course. She gave an interview to NPR and finally mentioned the story. She said that Trump ‘decimated’ the immigration system. Kamala claims the Biden administration takes the issue of human smuggling “seriously”. If that was true, she and Biden would take securing the southern border seriously. Cartels are in control of the border and human smuggling is big business, along with drug smuggling.
Kamala lashed out at Governor Abbott, as Joe Biden did, for grandstanding and turning the tragedy into political accusations.
“These deaths are on Biden,” tweeted Abbott Monday night. “They are a result of his deadly open border policies. They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law.”
Abbott is right. All of this is because of open borders and a dereliction of duty by the Biden administration. They have no interest in securing the border.
Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday chided Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s response to the news that at least 53 migrants had died after being left in an abandoned semitruck in San Antonio, Texas this week.
“How the governor of that state responded really highlights part of the problem because his response when there are 50 dead bodies in his state is to go straight to politics,” Harris said in an interview with NPR. “Instead of dealing with the realities of the issue.”
No person in elected office has dealt with “the realities of the issue” more than Governor Abbott. Texas is bearing the majority of the burden of Team Biden’s recklessness. He has asked time and time again for more resources, more assistance from the federal government and been ignored. Immigration and border security is a federal issue. Governor Abbott said he forgot Kamala is the border czar. Why wouldn’t he? There is no communication or distribution of plans to handle the Biden border crisis with border governors or with Abbott specifically.
Sadly, there is no reason to think that this will be the last such human tragedy as a result of Biden’s border crisis.
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