Guatemalan Human Smuggler Pleads Guilty for Role in 2021 Mass Casualty Event in Chiapas, Mexico

A Guatemalan national charged in connection with the Dec. 9, 2021 mass casualty event in Chiapas, Mexico, pleaded guilty today to human smuggling charges related to the crash of a tractor-trailer packed with at least 160 illegal aliens — many of them Guatemalan nationals — which resulted in the deaths of more than 50 people, including unaccompanied children, and injured over 100 more. According to the factual summary entered into the record and court documents, Daniel Zavala Ramos, also known as “Dany ZR,” 42, of Guatemala, acknowledged that he conspired with other smugglers to transport undocumented aliens, both adults and unaccompanied minors, from Guatemala though Mexico to the United States. Zavala Ramos and his co-conspirators recruited Guatemalan aliens, collected payment and arranged for the aliens to travel by foot, inside microbuses, cattle trucks and tractor-trailers. Daniel Zavala Ramos was extradited from Guatemala in 2025 to face charges. The factual summary further provided that aliens paid Zavala Ramos and his co-conspirators to be smuggled to the United States. In some cases, Zavala Ramos and his co-conspirators provided scripted language for unaccompanied minors to use if apprehended by U.S. immigration authorities. During the conspiracy, on Dec. 9, 2021, Zavala Ramos and his co-conspirators arranged for the aliens they were smuggling to the United States to be loaded into a tractor trailer that was to transport the aliens through Mexico. The tractor trailer ultimately crashed north of the Guatemala/Mexico border near Tuxtla Guiterrez, Chiapas, Mexico, resulting in the death of 56 people. Over 100 other illegal aliens were injured, some very seriously. Zavala Ramos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring and attempt to bring an undocumented alien to the United States, placing life in jeopardy, causing serious bodily injury and resulting in death. Zavala Ramos will be sentenced on July 7 and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.