Final Guatemalan national extradited to U.S. admits to role in 2021 alien smuggling mass casualty event in Chiapas, Mexico

LAREDO, Texas - The last foreign national has pleaded guilty to smuggling charges related to the crash of a tractor-trailer packed with at least 160 illegal aliens which resulted in the deaths of more than 50 people, including unaccompanied children, and injured over 100 more. All six indicted have now admitted to their roles in a conspiracy to bring illegal aliens from Guatemala into the United States.

Tomas Quino Canil, 38, Guatemala, acknowledged he conspired with other smugglers to transport illegal aliens, both adults and unaccompanied minors, from Guatemala through Mexico to the United States.

Quino Canil and others recruited Guatemalan nationals, collected payments, and arranged transportation by foot, inside microbuses, cattle trucks, and tractor-trailers.

Illegal aliens paid thousands of dollars to the conspirators to be smuggled into the United States. In some cases, the smugglers provided scripted language to unaccompanied minors for their use if U.S. immigration authorities apprehended them.

During the conspiracy, on Dec. 9, 2021, Quino Canil and others arranged for more than approximately 150 aliens to board a tractor-trailer traveling through Mexico. The vehicle crashed north of the Guatemala-Mexico border near Tuxtla Guiterrez, Chiapas, Mexico, killing multiple people and seriously injuring others.

"With Quino Canil's guilty plea, every member of this smuggling conspiracy has now been held accountable for one of the deadliest human smuggling tragedies in recent memory," said U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz. "These criminals packed more than 150 illegal aliens into a trailer like they were cargo. Fifty people then died at the hands of these foreign criminals. My office will continue hunting down anyone who profits from this trade in human suffering, no matter where they hide or how long it takes to bring them to American justice."

"Sadly, this preventable tragedy occurred because of these criminals' callous disregard for the safety of men, women, and children, and our immigration laws, which resulted in serious injury and death in Chiapas, Mexico," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "These defendants exploited vulnerable people and created an atmosphere with deadly consequences, all for money. These events will be investigated and prosecuted with the full resources of the Criminal Division."

"This case stands as a stark reminder of the extreme dangers and devastating consequences caused by those who treat human lives as mere commodities," said Acting Executive Associate Director John A. Condon of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations. "The callous actions of these smugglers resulted in unimaginable loss and suffering for dozens of families. HSI will relentlessly pursue those who orchestrate and profit from such horrific crimes. The successful outcome of this case would not have been possible without the outstanding collaboration of our domestic and international law enforcement partners, whose dedication and expertise were critical in bringing these criminals to justice and protecting the most vulnerable from exploitation."

Quino Canil pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring and attempt to bring an illegal alien into the United States, placing life in jeopardy, causing serious bodily injury, and resulting in death. U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo has set sentencing for Oct. 6. At that time, he faces up to life in prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

Agapito Jorge Ventura, 34, Oswaldo Manuel Zavala Quino, 26, Daniel Zavala Ramos, 42, Josefa Quino Canil de Zavala, 44, and Alberto Macario Chitic, 33, all of Guatemala, previously pleaded guilty to the same charges.

Canil De Zavala, Macario Chitic, Zavala Ramos, Zavala Quino and Quino Canil were extradited from Guatemala in 2025 to face charges. U.S. authorities arrested Ventura at his residence in Cleveland in December 2024.

HSI's Washington, D.C., Field Office conducted the investigation in partnership with HSI Guatemala and HSI Mexico. Valuable assistance was provided by HSI's Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C.; HSI Houston; HSI Laredo; U.S. Customs and Border Protection's International Interdiction Task Force; U.S. Border Patrol; Liberty County Constable, Precinct 6; ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston; U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas; and the Criminal Division's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing the arrests and extraditions. Guatemalan prosecutors from the Office of Public Ministry and Mexican prosecutors from the Republic of Mexico's Federal Prosecutions Office, with the support of law enforcement officials from both countries, were also instrumental in furthering the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary Lou Castillo and Jennifer Day are prosecuting the case along with Senior Trial Attorney Danielle Hickman of the Criminal Division's Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section with substantial assistance from HRSP Latin American Specialist/Historian Joanna Crandall.

The investigation and charges are supported and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha, the Department's lead effort in combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking cartels and transnational criminal organizations commit. A highly successful partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, JTFA investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security. JTFA's mission is to target the leaders and organizers of cartels and TCOs involved in human smuggling and trafficking throughout the Americas. The Attorney General has elevated and expanded JTFA to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, but also in Canada, the Caribbean and maritime border, and elsewhere. Led by the Criminal Division's HRSP Section and supported by the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section; Office of International Affairs and Office of Enforcement Operations, among others, JTFA has dedicated Assistant United States Attorney-detailees from the Southern District of California; District of Arizona; District of New Mexico; Western and Southern Districts of Texas; Southern District of Florida; Northern District of New York; and District of Vermont. JTFA also partners with other USAOs throughout the country and supports high-priority cases in any district. All JTFA cases rely on substantial law enforcement resources from DHS, including ICE/HSI and CBP/BP and OFO, as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies. To date, JTFA's work has resulted in more than 465 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking; more than 419 U.S. convictions; and more than 363 significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets.

This case is also part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigrants, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.