A Guatemalan national, Daniel Zavala Ramos, is scheduled to appear in U.S. federal court following his extradition from Guatemala on charges related to a 2021 tractor-trailer crash in Chiapas, Mexico, that resulted in the deaths of over 50 people and injured more than 100 others. The crash involved at least 160 migrants, many of whom were Guatemalan nationals and included unaccompanied children.
Zavala Ramos was arrested in Boquerón, Guatemala on August 7 after a U.S. extradition request and was transferred to U.S. authorities on October 21. His initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Diana Song Quiroga is set for Laredo.
U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei stated, “The extradition marks yet another significant step in the Justice Department’s efforts to bring those responsible to justice.”
In addition to Zavala Ramos, five other individuals face charges: Tomas Quino Canil, Oswaldo Manuel Zavala Quino (also known as Osvaldo ZQ), Josefa Quino Canil De Zavala, Alberto Marcario Chitic (also known as Alberto De Jesus), and Jorge Agapito Ventura (also known as Jorge Ventura or El Raitero). All are currently held in federal custody awaiting further legal proceedings.
All six defendants are charged with conspiracy to bring illegal aliens into the United States under conditions that endangered lives and resulted in death or serious injury. According to court documents, between October 2021 and February 2023 they allegedly worked with other smugglers to move migrants from Guatemala through Mexico into the United States by various means of transportation such as foot travel, microbuses, cattle trucks, and tractor-trailers. The indictment also alleges that some smuggled individuals died or suffered injuries during these operations.
If convicted on all counts, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and up to $250,000 in fines.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations’ Counter Proliferation Investigations Group based in Washington D.C., with support from HSI offices in Guatemala and Mexico as well as several other U.S. law enforcement agencies including Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center and Operation Sentinel.
Prosecution is led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Day and Mary Lou Castillo along with Senior Trial Attorney Danielle Hickman of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section.
This case stems from Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), which coordinates resources among multiple agencies including the Department of Homeland Security and various U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border to combat human smuggling networks operating throughout Central America.
According to official figures cited by JTFA, their coordinated actions have led to over 420 arrests internationally for leaders or facilitators of alien smuggling operations; more than 370 convictions within the United States; over 315 jail sentences; and significant asset forfeitures since inception.
The prosecution is also part of Operation Take Back America—an initiative using resources from several DOJ task forces aimed at dismantling cartels involved in violent crime across communities nationwide.
Authorities emphasized that an indictment constitutes only an allegation; all defendants remain presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
