A Guatemalan national, Daniel Zavala Ramos, also known as Dany ZR, is scheduled to appear in U.S. federal court on charges related to a 2021 tractor-trailer crash in Chiapas, Mexico that resulted in the deaths of more than 50 people and injuries to over 100 others. The victims were among at least 160 migrants, many from Guatemala, who were being smuggled.
Zavala Ramos was arrested in Boquerón, Guatemala on August 7 following a U.S. extradition request and was transferred to U.S. custody on October 21. He will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Diana Song Quiroga in Laredo.
The extradition followed coordinated efforts between the Justice Department and Guatemalan authorities after an international enforcement operation on December 9, 2024, marking three years since the incident. According to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei, "The extradition marks yet another significant step in the Justice Department’s efforts to bring those responsible to justice."
Other individuals charged include Tomas Quino Canil, Oswaldo Manuel Zavala Quino (also known as Osvaldo ZQ), Josefa Quino Canil De Zavala, Alberto Marcario Chitic (also known as Alberto De Jesus), all arrested in Guatemala on December 9, 2024; and Jorge Agapito Ventura (also known as Jorge Ventura or El Raitero), who was taken into custody in Cleveland, Texas on the same day. All six are currently held pending further legal proceedings.
They face charges of conspiracy to bring illegal aliens into the United States resulting in death and serious injury by placing lives at risk.
Court documents state that from October 2021 through February 2023, the group allegedly worked with other smugglers to move migrants from Guatemala through Mexico into the United States using various means of transportation such as foot travel, microbuses, cattle trucks, and tractor-trailers. The indictment alleges they recruited migrants—including unaccompanied minors—collected payments for their journeys, provided instructions for encounters with authorities, and that some suffered death or injury during these operations.
If convicted, each defendant faces up to life imprisonment and fines up to $250,000.
The investigation involved Homeland Security Investigations’ Counter Proliferation Investigations Group based in Washington D.C., HSI offices in Guatemala and Mexico—with assistance from HSI units in Houston and Laredo—as well as support from Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center and Operation Sentinel among others.
Prosecution is led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Day and Mary Lou Castillo along with Senior Trial Attorney Danielle Hickman of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section.
This case stems from Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), which focuses on dismantling human smuggling networks operating across Central America that impact border security. JTFA includes personnel from several southwest border U.S. Attorneys’ Offices as well as federal law enforcement agencies such as DHS and FBI. Since its inception JTFA has achieved over 420 arrests related to alien smuggling operations with more than 370 convictions.
The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a DOJ initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration by targeting criminal organizations involved in violent crime across national borders.
“All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
