Two Guatemalan nationals have entered guilty pleas in federal court, marking a critical step toward justice after a horrific 2021 human smuggling crash that killed 56 illegal immigrants and injured more than 100 others. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Wednesday that Josefa Quino Canil De Zavala and Alberto Marcario Chitic pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring illegal immigrants into the United States, placing lives in jeopardy and resulting in death.

The catastrophic Dec. 9, 2021, wreck involved an commercial tractor-trailer packed with migrants that overturned just north of the Guatemala-Mexico border. Federal officials pointed directly to the disaster as a tragic consequence of previous open border policies that have compromised national security and created a highly lucrative market for transnational criminal organizations.

"This is yet another example of how Biden’s open borders created a humanitarian crisis that allowed smugglers to profit off the deaths of illegal aliens," DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital. Bis praised the rigorous efforts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in bringing these criminal aliens to justice, emphasizing that the rule of law must be maintained to prevent further loss of life.

Federal prosecutors painted a chilling picture of the smuggling syndicate, describing a highly organized, profit-driven enterprise that treated human lives "like a supply chain." The network systematically recruited individuals in Guatemala, collected substantial payments, and packed them into cattle trucks and trailers for the dangerous trek toward the U.S. southern border.

Further demonstrating the calculated criminality of the operation, Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck for the Southern District of Texas revealed that the smuggling ring handed scripts to children to teach them how to lie to American law enforcement if apprehended. This deceptive tactic highlights the cartels' deliberate efforts to exploit legal loopholes and evade federal immigration controls.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division condemned the smugglers' total indifference to human life. Duva stated that human smugglers show no concern for the individuals they transport, exposing them to lethal risks, including extreme heat and dangerous travel conditions, solely to maximize their illicit profits.

The successful prosecution was spearheaded by Joint Task Force Alpha, a specialized law enforcement partnership between the DOJ and DHS designed to target and dismantle cartels. To date, the task force's relentless efforts to secure the border and combat illegal immigration have resulted in more than 458 arrests and over 408 federal convictions of key smuggling leaders.

The guilty pleas of Quino Canil De Zavala and Chitic, who were among five defendants extradited from Guatemala in 2025, represent a major victory for federal law enforcement. As they await sentencing, conservative leaders continue to call for stricter border enforcement and an end to policies that allow transnational criminal networks to operate with impunity.

Sources: * U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division * U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Joint Task Force Alpha * U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas