Texas Woman Accused of Running Human Smuggling Safe House After 7 Migrants Found Dead Near Texas Rail Yard

The Department of Homeland Security recently succeeded in arresting and charging a known human smuggling suspect. The federal investigation stemmed from the deaths of several people whose bodies were found inside a shipping container in a railyard near the U.S.-Mexico border.

During the course of the investigation, local police confirmed that the deceased individuals were migrants who were being smuggled through the railroad system. However, the court filing does not directly accuse the suspect of the deaths.

The suspect, Mayra Huerta, pleaded not guilty after federal prosecutors charged her with harboring illegal aliens. If convicted, she could face 10 years in prison. Her arrest earlier this week was connected to six bodies discovered inside a shipping container in Laredo. Later, a seventh body was found abandoned along railroad tracks near Bexar County.

The local sheriff’s department was able to connect all seven deaths to a larger human smuggling operation near the Del Rio area. The deceased individuals were reportedly between the ages of 14 and 56. Investigators then focused on an area along the Rio Grande known as “The Vega.”

Attention was specifically drawn to a particular home in this very vicinity, which was a hideout of a known smuggler. Court documents reveal that investigators spotted as many as three people from this home to cross the river and reach Mexico.

When an arrest warrant was procured and the home raided, it was Huerta who was detained as a person of interest. Officials also found several weapons and loose cash inside the home. Investigators have confirmed that not only the woman, but also all other persons of interest identified during the course of their investigation, will be questioned.

Human smuggling across the highly sensitive U.S.-Mexico border was allegedly facilitated through the railroads. The first six victims found dead included five men and one woman, who reportedly originated from Mexico and Honduras, according to the Webb County medical examiner.

As the DHS investigation progressed, officials reportedly received a frantic text message from another victim trapped inside a shipping container. The sender claimed they were trapped inside a rail boxcar and that temperatures inside were soaring, causing breathing difficulties.

However, when officials were dispatched to investigate the location from where the message was sent, they found nothing. It was later determined that the message came from one of the six migrants found dead in Laredo. According to the medical examiner, the victims died of heat stroke.

In the wake of the alleged human smuggling operation, the mayor issued a statement calling for justice for the victims. Speaking at a news conference, he also emphasized the need for strengthening border security now more than ever.

Mayor Victor Trevino said, “We are demanding justice for these lives lost. It doesn’t matter where they came from. Those responsible for trafficking and placing human beings in such dangerous and inhumane conditions must be held accountable. There can be no tolerance for criminal networks that exploit vulnerable people and put profit over human life.”