The Department of Justice has extradited a Guatemalan national to Laredo for charges from a tractor-trailer crash that killed more than 50 potential illegal aliens.
Daniel Zavala Ramos, 41, was arrested in Guatemala and then surrendered to American authorities on October 21, according to a DOJ press release. He was set to face federal court in Laredo, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Diana Song Quiroga, on October 23.
¡Juntos protegemos nuestras fronteras del tráfico de personas y el crimen transnacional! Daniel Zavala Ramos, el último guatemalteco acusado por el incidente en 2021 que dejó numerosas víctimas en Chiapas #MEX, fue extraditado para enfrentar la justicia estadounidense. Destacamos… pic.twitter.com/WEYZliYOZU
— US Embassy Guatemala (@usembassyguate) October 23, 2025
Ramos, also known as “Dany ZR,” was allegedly involved in a human smuggling scheme that led to a deadly crash in Chiapas, Mexico, on December 9, 2021. A tractor-trailer was packed with more than 150 would-be illegal aliens when it crashed, ejecting them onto the road – killing more than 50, and injuring more than 100 others.
The suspect was arrested in Boquerón, Guatemala, on August 7, per a U.S. extradition request, according to the release. He is charged with conspiracy to bring illegal aliens into the United States, placing life in jeopardy, causing serious bodily injuries, and resulting in death. If convicted, he could face up to life in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
Ramos allegedly worked a human smuggling ring with five others: 25-year-old Oswaldo Manuel Zavala Quino, 32-year-old Alberto Marcario Chitic, 33-year-old Jorge Agapito Ventura, 37-year-old Tomas Quino Canil, and 43-year-old Josefa Quino Canil De Zavala.
Law enforcement arrested Ventura in Cleveland, Texas, on December 9, 2024 – the three-year anniversary of the fatal crash, according to the release. The same day, authorities arrested the others in Guatemala.
All six suspects are now in federal custody, awaiting trial for the same charges as Ramos.
From October 2021 to February 2023, they reportedly worked with other smugglers to traffic illegal aliens from Guatemala, through Mexico, into America, according to the release. The men allegedly provided illegals with scripts and instructions on what to say if apprehended. Some of these migrants were reportedly killed or injured in the December 2021 crash.
“They allegedly recruited them, collected payment and arranged travel by foot, microbuses, cattle trucks and tractor-trailers,” the release reads. “In some instances, the scheme allegedly involved the smuggling of unaccompanied minors.”
Former President Joe Biden’s administration had lost more than 233,000 unaccompanied minor migrants across the nation. As The Dallas Express reported, the Trump administration announced in September that they had rescued nearly 25,000 children.
The recent extradition of Ramos was the result of coordination between the DOJ and Guatemalan authorities, according to the release. “The extradition marks yet another significant step in the Justice Department’s efforts to bring those responsible to justice.”
The investigation was led by ICE – Homeland Security Investigations’ Counter Proliferation Investigations in Washington D.C., alongside HSI-Human Smuggling and offices in Guatemala, Mexico, Houston, and Laredo.
Other agencies also helped, including Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, DOJ-Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas, ICE-Enforcement and Removal Operations in Houston, and the Liberty County Constable.
A federal court sentenced two human smugglers in June for their roles in a similar deadly incident, as The Dallas Express reported at the time. In 2022, smugglers left dozens of illegal aliens in a sweltering San Antonio tractor-trailer, killing 53 people.