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MRT (free): Two Convicted in Smuggling Deaths of 53 Immigrants in SA // 1st Abortion Arrest from AG Paxton Probe // TX Film Incentives: $2.5B over 10 Years
Here's What You Need to Know in Texas Today.
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MustReadTexas.com – @MustReadTexas
BY: @MattMackowiak
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WEDNESDAY || 3/19/2025
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TOP NEWS
“Two men convicted in the smuggling deaths of 53 immigrants in San Antonio,” via AP — “Two smugglers charged after 53 immigrants died in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer with no air conditioning were found guilty Tuesday after a two-week trial. The 2022 tragedy in San Antonio was the nation’s deadliest smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Jurors in federal court in San Antonio took only about an hour to convict Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzales-Ortega, finding that they were part of a human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in death and injury. They face up to life in prison and have a June 27 sentencing date.
The immigrants had come from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico and had paid between $12,000 and $15,000 each to be smuggled into the United States, according to an indictment in the case. They had made it as far as the Texas border city of Laredo when they were placed into a tractor-trailer with broken air conditioning for a three-hour drive to San Antonio.
As the temperature inside the trailer rose, those inside screamed and banged the walls of the trailer for help or tried to claw their way out, investigators said. Most eventually passed out. When the trailer was opened in San Antonio, 48 people were already dead. Another 16 were taken to hospitals, where five more died. The dead included six children and a pregnant woman.
“These defendants knew the air conditioning did not work. Nevertheless they disregarded the danger,” Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas said in a news conference after the verdict Tuesday. Orduna-Torres was the leader of the smuggling group inside the U.S., and Gonzales-Ortega was his “right-hand man” she said.
Five men previously pleaded guilty to felony charges in the smuggling case, including the truck driver Homero Zamorano Jr., who was found hiding near the trailer in some bushes. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Also pleading guilty are Christian Martinez, Luis Alberto Rivera-Leal, Riley Covarrubias-Ponce and Juan Francisco D’Luna Bilbao. All five will be sentenced later this year. Another person charged in the U.S. remains a fugitive, Leachman said. Several others have been charged in Mexico and Guatemala.
The incident is the deadliest among tragedies that have claimed thousands of lives in recent decades as people attempt to cross the U.S. border from Mexico. Ten immigrants died in 2017 after they were trapped inside a truck parked at a Walmart in San Antonio. In 2003, the bodies of 19 immigrants were found in a sweltering truck southeast of San Antonio." Texas Tribune
TOP NEWS
“Texas’ first abortion arrests stem from monthlong attorney general investigation” Texas Tribune
#TXLEGE
“Texas' new film bill could provide $2.5B to the industry over 10 years” ABJ ($)
“Are new religious displays coming to Texas schools? Here's how the Senate is paving a way” AAS ($)
STATE GOVERNMENT
“Texas jackpot winner will not get $83.5 million winnings… for now” Texas Tribune
2025
“Greg Abbott has a PAC to shape local politics — including San Antonio’s mayoral race” SA Report
“Amanda Edwards to run to succeed the late-U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner” Houston Chronicle ($)
BUSINESS NEWS
“From Wall Street to Y'all Street, Nasdaq to open regional headquarters in Dallas, Texas” AAS ($)
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
> HOU CHRON: "Speaker removed from board meeting after cursing Fort Bend ISD trustee" HOU CHRON
> HOU CHRON: "Will UH-Victoria move under the Texas A&M System's umbrella?" HOU CHRON
> HOU CHRON: "‘Against our wishes and needs’: East End residents demand answers over Houston's Polk Street closure" HOU CHRON
> THE TEXAN: "Legislation Proposed to Reduce Electricity, Energy Waste in Texas Facilities" THE TEXAN
> SAEN: "Keep pulpit out of Texas classrooms; expel Bluebonnet curriculum" SAEN
> AAS: "After funding freeze, refugee dollars flowing to Texas again but program's fate uncertain" AAS
> KXAN: "Texas Senate approves bill to put prayers in public schools" KXAN
> EP TIMES: "As Trump vows mass deportations, Texas lawmakers want to require sheriffs to work with ICE" EP TIMES
> THE TEXAN: "Texas Lawmakers File Priority Bills Clarifying 'Life of the Mother' Abortion Exceptions" THE TEXAN
> THE TEXAN: "Death Star 2.0: Proposal Filed in House to Beef Up Texas’ 2023 Local Government Preemption Law" THE TEXAN
> THE TEXAN: "‘I Think I Can Win if I Have $20 Million’: Paxton Re-ups Interest in Challenging Cornyn" THE TEXAN
> MY RGV: "Editorial: All Americans have right to government information: Here are a few resources" MY RGV
> KXAN: "APD addresses widely-spread video of interaction on 6th street" KXAN
> MRT: "Senator visits Permian to highlight unleashing U.S. energy" MRT
> KXAN: "‘They refused to listen’: Rain on 4th emptied by city of Austin over capacity discrepancy" KXAN
> TPR: "'Segregated facilities' are no longer explicitly banned in federal contracts" TPR
> SA REPORT: "Abbott-aligned PAC jumps into San Antonio's mayor race" SA REPORT
> FWST: "Man killed daughter’s boyfriend and hid body, Texas officials say. He’s prison-bound" FWST
> HOU CHRON: "Houston man held in Harris County Jail for 18 years without a trial" HOU CHRON
> HOU CHRON: "New details revealed in Houston midwife abortion investigation, 3 arrested" HOU CHRON
> HOU CHRON: "NASA astronauts return to Earth after an unplanned 9 months in space" HOU CHRON
> FWST: "Police release bodycam after Fort Worth officer shoots at restaurant owner" FWST
> FWST: "Even after 80 years in Dallas and 20 in Fort Worth, plenty is new at Campisi’s pizza" FWST
> AAS: "'Loyal and loving native son': Ben Johnson writes compelling yet critical history of Texas" AAS
> FWST: "Multiple people hospitalized in I-30 crash of inmate transport van and pickup in Arlington" FWST
> AAS: "Forever 21 files for bankruptcy again. See 32 Texas locations that could close" AAS
> KXAN: "Texas jackpot winner will not get $83.5 million winnings… for now" KXAN
> MRT: "Texas Tech's NCAA Tournament hopes hinge on player health" MRT
> AAS: "Court records detail investigation leading to Texas AG abortion arrests" AAS
> AAS: "Former Texas megachurch pastor Robert Morris turns himself in amid child sex abuse charges" AAS
> HOU CHRON: "What can Houston leaders learn from a man’s 18-year stay in Harris County Jail without a trial?" HOU CHRON
EXTRA POINTS
Last night's Texas sports scores:
> NHL: Dallas 4, Anaheim 3
Tonight's Texas sports schedule:
> 6pm: NBA: Dallas at Indiana
> 6pm: NBA: Houston at Orlando
> 7pm: NBA: New York at San Antonio
> 8:10pm: NCAAM: #11 Xavier vs. #11 Texas (truTV)
DALLAS COWBOYS: Watkins: "Do the Cowboys have a Micah Parsons problem?" DMN ($)
HOUSTON MEN'S BASKETBALL: "UH Cougars: J'Wan Roberts says he's healthy for NCAA Tournament opener" Houston Chronicle ($)
HOUSTON ASTROS: "Houston Astros' new City Connect uniforms: Nike's nod to past, space" Houston Chronicle ($)
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