Eagle Pass Man Among 14 Charged in Deadly Human Smuggling Case
By Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2026 Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.
An Eagle Pass man is among 14 defendants charged in a human smuggling operation linked to the deaths of seven migrants, including a 14-year-old Honduran child, inside a shipping container transported by freight train from Del Rio, Texas.
Eric Hernandez, 40, was named in a superseding indictment announced November 9, 2026 by the U.S. Department of Justice. A federal grand jury in the Western District of Texas expanded the case after 11 defendants were indicted in July.
According to court documents, the defendants allegedly operated the organization from at least April 2023 through May 12, 2026, bringing migrants across the Mexican border and using cargo trains to transport them farther into the United States.
Migrants, relatives or friends allegedly paid between $1,500 and $10,000. The organization allegedly worked with other smuggling groups, sharing routes, guides, stash houses and drivers. Migrants were held in houses or hidden in brush near the Rio Grande before being loaded into shipping containers.
In February 2026, the organization allegedly began arranging transportation for the seven victims. Around May 9, smugglers allegedly brought them across the border into Del Rio and took them near Union Pacific railroad tracks.
Between approximately 1:18 p.m. and 1:25 p.m., smugglers allegedly cut a container lock with red bolt cutters, loaded the migrants inside and closed the door while the train was stopped.
The container was stacked atop another container, lacked ventilation or cooling and could not be opened from inside. Outside temperatures ranged from 88 to 92 degrees Fahrenheit.
The train traveled toward San Antonio along the U.S. Highway 90 corridor. Prosecutors alleged smugglers opened the container there, discovered the migrants in peril and fled, leaving one deceased victim near the tracks and the others inside.
On May 10, after the train continued to Laredo, a Union Pacific Rail Yard worker noticed a leg protruding from the container. Six people were found dead inside. San Antonio authorities later located the seventh victim.
Four victims were Mexican nationals and three were Honduran nationals. At least one sent a message to a loved one pleading for help.
Other defendants include Karina Garcia, 37, Edson Alejandro Perez, 18, and Mayra Alejandra Huerta, 32, of Del Rio.
Also charged are Seferino Huerta-Casillas, 35, Maria Norma Neri de Moran, 56, Damian Huerta Analucas, 55, and Rosario Cristal Lopez-Saldana, 26, of Mexico.
Defendants from Honduras include Jonas Ulloa-Aguilera, 25, Franklin Williams Ayala Aguilera, 30, Juan Alvaro Membreno-Contreras, 40, Yuri Julissa Cuaresma Paredes, 34, and Mavis Aleyda Escalante Peraza, 38. Pascual Raymundo Loarca, 34, is from Guatemala.
Twelve defendants face conspiracy and transportation charges resulting in death, carrying a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment upon conviction.
Eleven face seven counts of aiding and abetting unlawfully bringing migrants into the United States. Conviction on at least three counts carries a minimum five-year sentence and a maximum of 15 years.
Twelve also face conspiracy charges involving serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy, carrying up to 20 years. Eleven face money laundering conspiracy charges carrying up to 20 years. The release did not specify each defendant’s charges.
Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation with assistance from Border Patrol, federal agencies, Texas authorities, local law enforcement and Union Pacific Railroad Police.
Trial Attorney Paige Petersen and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Spears, Todd Keagle and Ashley Ellis-Dotson are prosecuting the case.
The investigation received support from Joint Task Force Alpha and falls under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative targeting transnational criminal organizations and smuggling networks.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
