Seven suspects have been apprehended and eleven migrants are receiving medical attention following a sting operation, according to a Texas sheriff in San Antonio.
This was in response to the discovery of over two dozen migrants who had been transported from the border. They were found tightly packed in a concealed compartment of a trailer, enduring extreme heat and limited water supply.
Based on a tip regarding a smuggling operation, law enforcement officials tracked the trailer as it was transported to a remote residence near San Antonio, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.
Salazar described the residence as a dilapidated structure with numerous deficiencies, including holes in the floor and a lack of water. Inside, a total of 26 migrants were discovered. According to Salazar, 11 individuals were transported to a hospital due to heat-related and minor injuries.
According to Salazar, the migrants had been hiding in the trailer’s concealed compartment for three hours. San Antonio experienced scorching temperatures in the high 90s on Thursday afternoon, with expectations of reaching over 100 degrees, as reported by the National Weather Service.
The conditions of the hospitalized migrants were not disclosed, but according to Salazar, it is believed that everyone is no longer in danger of losing their life.
Shortly after President Joe Biden announced his plans to address immigration concerns at the U.S.-Mexico border, a smuggling sting operation took place. This move by the White House aims to minimize immigration as a potential political issue leading up to the November elections.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has consistently opposed the immigration policies of the Biden administration. Abbott initiated Operation Lone Star, a significant state border security initiative that has sparked legal disputes with the federal government regarding river buoys and razor wire to prevent migrants from crossing the Rio Grande, along with other measures aimed at border control. Texas has also transported large numbers of migrants to cities governed by Democratic officials throughout the United States.
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In June 2022, San Antonio became the location of a tragic human smuggling incident, which was the deadliest in the country. Tragedy struck as a group of migrants, including young children, lost their lives in a suffocating semi-trailer that had traveled from the border city of Laredo. The trailer experienced an issue with its air-conditioning unit. 48 migrants were discovered deceased on a remote San Antonio road, with an additional five individuals later passing away at hospitals. The deceased individuals hailed from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
According to Salazar, all of the individuals discovered on Thursday seemed to be adults. Authorities were informed by one woman, who claimed to be from Guatemala, that she had paid a substantial amount of $16,000 to be brought to the U.S. The nationalities of the rest of the individuals were not immediately known.
Salazar mentioned that he was unsure about the timing of the migrants’ border crossing, but he believed that they were brought to the area from Laredo, which is approximately 160 miles (260 kilometers) away as per the Associated Press.
Salazar attributed the dismantling of the operation on Thursday to Mexican cartels. He also mentioned the discovery of bulletproof vests and rifles on the property. Several individuals were discovered at the residence and attempted to flee, but authorities are confident that they apprehended all those implicated.
“It is evident that there is a connection to a cartel,” Salazar remarked. “The responsibility for this lies with the organizations that are endangering them by bringing them across.”
Salazar remarked on the migrants’ remarkable ability to remain concealed during their transportation.