LAREDO, Texas — Two Guatemalan nationals pleaded guilty to human smuggling charges stemming from a 2021 tractor-trailer crash in Chiapas, Mexico, that killed more than 50 people — including unaccompanied children — and injured over 100, the Department of Justice announced.
Josefa Quino Canil De Zavala, 43, and Alberto Marcario Chitic, 32, admitted they conspired to transport at least 160 illegal aliens from Guatemala through Mexico to the United States, recruiting Guatemalan nationals, collecting payment, and arranging travel by foot, microbuses, cattle trucks, and tractor-trailers. On Dec. 9, 2021, a tractor-trailer they had loaded with migrants crashed near Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, killing 56 people.
“The defendants ran a calculated alien smuggling operation that moved people across borders like a supply chain — recruiting them in Guatemala, collecting their money, and packing them into cattle trucks and tractor-trailers for a dangerous journey through Mexico,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck for the Southern District of Texas. “That operation ended with the loss of more than 50 lives on a Mexican roadside, and today’s convictions make clear that the Southern District of Texas will work to shut down these networks at every level.”
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duvan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said the conspirators prioritized profit over human life. “This defendant and her co-conspirators maximized their profits by packing more than 100 men, women, and children into a tractor trailer, which ultimately ended in an accident that claimed the lives of 56 people,” Duvan said. Prosecutors noted that Canil De Zavala, Chitic, and their co-conspirators provided scripted language to unaccompanied minors to use if apprehended by U.S. immigration authorities.
“This case highlights Homeland Security Investigations’ unwavering commitment to dismantling transnational criminal organizations that exploit vulnerable individuals for profit,” said HSI Acting Executive Associate Director John Condon. “The successful prosecution of these smugglers reflects the dedication of our agents and the coordinated efforts of our domestic and international partners to safeguard our borders and uphold the rule of law.”
Canil De Zavala and Chitic were among five Guatemalan nationals extradited from Guatemala in 2025 to face charges: Daniel Zavala Ramos, 41, Tomas Quino Canil, 37, and Oswaldo Manuel Zavala Quino, 25. Ramos entered a guilty plea in April. A sixth defendant, Jorge Agapito Ventura, 33, an illegal immigrant living in Cleveland, was arrested at his residence in December 2024. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent.
The case was investigated by HSI’s Counter Proliferation Investigations Group in Washington, D.C., in partnership with HSI Guatemala and HSI Mexico, and is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary Lou Castillo and Jennifer Day along with Senior Trial Attorney Danielle Hickman of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section. The prosecution falls under Joint Task Force Alpha, the DOJ’s lead effort against transnational human smuggling organizations, which has produced more than 458 domestic and international arrests, more than 408 U.S. convictions, and more than 357 significant jail sentences to date.
U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo has set sentencing for Sept. 9. The defendants face up to life in prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.