Six people, including a 14-year-old boy from Honduras and Mexico, were found dead in a shipping container at a rail yard in Laredo, Texas, authorities confirmed on Thursday. The victims were part of a human smuggling operation, according to police.
The bodies were discovered on Sunday by a Union Pacific employee. The Webb County medical examiner suspects the deaths were caused by hyperthermia, or heat stroke, a conclusion echoed by Laredo Mayor Victor Treviño. “They did not pass away in our city, but they were discovered here after hours of suffering,” Treviño said at a news conference. “We are demanding justice for these lives lost.”
Laredo Police Chief Miguel Rodriguez Jr. said the six individuals were placed in the container on Saturday in Del Rio, Texas, two days after the train departed from Long Beach, California. The train travelled to the San Antonio area before arriving in Laredo on Sunday. Laredo is a major land port for trade on the U.S.-Mexico border and a common route for illegal migration.
Authorities are also investigating a possible seventh victim. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said Monday that the body of a 49-year-old Mexican man found in the region may be connected to the same train. Bexar County, home to San Antonio, is about 150 miles north of Laredo.
The incident recalls the deadliest human smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border, when 53 migrants died in a sweltering tractor-trailer in Texas in 2022. Two smugglers were later sentenced to life in prison. Smuggling on trains remains a concern, as trains often slow or stop in Mexico before crossing the border, providing opportunities for smugglers to place people or contraband aboard.
Border encounters have dropped significantly in recent years, with about 40 people encountered daily in March in the Laredo sector, the third busiest along the border, according to Border Patrol statistics.
