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Man arrested after smuggled migrants found dead in train freight car in Texas

Authorities confirmed Wednesday they have arrested one man in connection with last week’s fatal smuggling incident in Texas. Photo courtesy of Uvalde Police Department
Authorities confirmed Wednesday they have arrested one man in connection with last week’s fatal smuggling incident in Texas. Photo courtesy of Uvalde Police Department

March 29 (UPI) -- Authorities confirmed Wednesday they have arrested one man in connection with last week's fatal smuggling incident in Texas.

A Honduran national is now in custody, ABC reported, citing a criminal complaint from U.S. District Court in Texas.

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Denniso Carranza Gonzales is accused of leading a group of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border into Uvalde County, Texas.

Two migrants were found dead and 10 more needed medical attention when officials located them, following a 911 call Friday in the county west of San Antonio.

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Initial reports pegged the number of migrants found trapped in a freight car on a Union Pacific train in Knippa, Texas, at 17 Friday. That number was amended to 12 Wednesday.

Knippa is about 75 miles west of San Antonio.

The temperature at the time was 87 degrees F, Uvalde Police Chief Daniel Rodriguez said at the time. The two fatalities were likely due to hydration. Several other people were found unresponsive.

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An anonymous 911 call alerted police to the situation around 3:50 p.m. CDT.

Gonzales is charged with conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death.

He was reportedly leading a group of migrants as a guide, from Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico to San Antonio. Piedras Negras, Coahuila is across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas.

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"From there they would ride the trains to San Antonio, Texas," according to the court filing, which says Gonzales told investigators "he would be taken care of for continuing to smuggle groups" into the United States.

Gonazales reportedly told authorities he had been acting as a guide on the route for three months.

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