Defendant in fatal tractor-trailer smuggling case pleads guilty following HSI, federal and state law enforcement partners investigation

SAN ANTONIO — A Mexican citizen pleaded guilty to four counts related to his involvement in smuggling at least 66 noncitizens in June 2022 that resulted in the deaths of 47 adults and six children. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is leading the investigation with help from multiple federal and state law enforcement agencies.

According to court documents, Riley Covarrubias-Ponce aka Rrili aka Rilay, 31, was a member of the human smuggling organization responsible for the failed smuggling attempt that brought adults and children from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico into the United States. In the days leading up to June 27, 2022, Covarrubias-Ponce coordinated with other members of the organization about the noncitizens who were being smuggled to Laredo for further transport to San Antonio. He also traveled from Houston to accompany the loaded tractor-trailer as it transported the noncitizens north on Interstate Highway 35, ultimately ending up at the unloading location on Quintana Road in San Antonio, where it was discovered that many of the smuggled noncitizens had died.

Covarrubias-Ponce pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport noncitizens resulting in death; one count of conspiracy to transport noncitizens resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy; one count of transportation of noncitizens resulting in death; and one count of transportation of noncitizens resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Another defendant in the case, Christian Martinez, 29, pleaded guilty to the same charges in September 2023. Other co-defendants whose cases are still pending include Homero Zamorano Jr., 47, who drove the tractor trailer; Felipe Orduna-Torres aka Cholo aka Chuequito/Chuekito aka Negro, 29; Luis Alberto Rivera-Leal aka Cowboy, 38; and Armando Gonzales-Ortega aka El Don aka Don Gon, 54. Juan Francisco D’Luna Bilbao pleaded guilty to the same charges as Martinez and Covarrubias-Ponce in addition to a firearms charge in June 2023.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the Western District of Texas Eric Fuchs, Sarah Spears and Amanda Brown are prosecuting the case.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’ largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

These charges resulted in coordination with Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas is part of the JTFA, which was established by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in June 2021 to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department of Justice, in partnership with DHS, to enhance U.S. enforcement efforts against the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The task force focuses on disrupting and dismantling smuggling and trafficking networks that abuse, exploit or endanger migrants, pose national security threats, and are involved in organized crime. JTFA consists of federal prosecutors and attorneys from U.S. attorneys’ offices along the Southwest Border (the District of Arizona, the Southern District of California, the Southern District of Texas and the Western District of Texas), from the Criminal Division and the Civil Rights Division, along with law enforcement agents and analysts from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection’s U.S. Border Patrol, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration.