They were found in a trailer smelling of cooked meat. “So hot it burned to touch them,” San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said. He has had to seek out psychological treatment for his men. The Bexar County Coroner’s Office has slowly unraveled the web of dreams and miseries that bind the 53 victims of the worst migratory disaster in America. They were found abandoned in a truck with no air conditioning or water at the San Antonio (Texas) border.
To restore the slowly dying life, it is necessary to use the journalistic reports and investigations of five countries. A spokesperson for the county told the Washington Post that the team was passionately committed to naming the lives of each person they represent. The current list includes 27 Mexicans and 14 Hondurans, 7 Guatemalans and 7 Guatemalans. Five bodies are still to be identified. To connect any ID, card or number that they have, consular authorities work together in a round-trip process to remote villages. According to Francisco Garduno (Director of Immigration of Mexico), the truck’s human load was 67 persons, with at least two teenagers.
They believed to have been excited to finally reach the promised land and convinced they had already cared for the American dream when they arrived in Laredo. “Let’s go, mom! Magdalena Tepaz was the last to hear about Wilmer Tulul’s 13-year-old son. She had gone on an adventure with Pascual Melvin, her cousin. They followed the path of many others from their village of Quiche Indians, Tzucubal in the middle of the Guatemalan mountain ranges, where they grew food and received remittances from those who had emigrated to the United States.
A single mother of two young children, the woman does not speak Spanish. Although her son and her cousin were a bit confused, they had a great childhood together and shared dreams and ended up dying together on Monday. Through an interpreter, she said that she wanted her children to study in the USA. She cried, “They wanted to help me build my home and find work.” They were waiting in Houston for relatives and had pooled their money to pay traffickers until they could repay them.
Each one paid a different rate, just like the planes. Wilmer’s family will receive 6,000 dollars. They will be able to save half of that amount as the merchandise never reached its destination and the traffickers cannot claim it. Homero Zamorano (45), was discovered by police hiding among nearby bushes with the apparent intent of pretending to be one of the survivors.
Although the vehicle never crossed Texas border, he was captured driving on Interstate 35 in Texas by Border Patrol cameras. His phone calls have allowed him to be arrested for a conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrant resulting in his death. He was also recorded calling Juan Claudio D’LunaMendez and Christian Martinez, both aged 28. respectively, were charged with weapons-related offenses.
Magdalena Tepaz had expected her children to build her house in Guatemala. Yolanda Olivares sold her home in Veracruz, Mexico to pay 10,000 to each of her children and her cousin, who took the road at 16 years old. They were waiting in a Laredo warehouse to be picked up. The coyote was “a kind man”, who had “helped” others relatives. They were greeted by one of them in Austin. The mother of a distraught child told the Washington Post that they were excited to see them arrive in Austin the next day. The phone message was deleted and will never be heard again. “I don’t have any tears left.”
However, not everyone was as humble. Karen Caballero, a Las Vegas (Honduras) mother, said that her children worked hard to pay their education but couldn’t find work. They were told they didn’t have experience. She lamented that if they were more prepared, they might have a better chance of securing a job in the US.
Fernando Jose Redondo Caballero (20), his brother Alejandro Miguel Andino (24), with a degree as Marketing and Margie Tamara (25), with an Economics degree had helped them from 18. Alejandro was afraid. He said to me: “Mom, if you don’t return …” he retold. She paused, saying “Don’t tell me that you’re not going be the first or last to visit the US wet.” She was correct in this.
