One of two fugitives charged after seven migrants died inside a freight container has surrendered, federal prosecutors announced.

Karina Garcia, 37, appeared Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Watters in Del Rio, Texas. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Garcia surrendered Sunday at a Del Rio port of entry. She faces two federal counts that could carry a life sentence if she is convicted.

Prosecutors say Garcia played a key role in an operation that lasted about three years. The group smuggled people from Mexico using cargo trains, according to an Aug. 19 release. Smugglers allegedly charged each traveler, or their relatives, between $1,500 and $10,000. A federal grand jury indicted Garcia in July, according to the original announcement.

Seven people died inside freight container

Seven migrants from Mexico and Honduras died in a Conex shipping container in May, prosecutors contend. The indictment says smugglers moved them near Union Pacific tracks in Del Rio. The group allegedly cut a lock, loaded the people inside and closed the door. Authorities said the container was placed atop another container without ventilation or cooling.

Investigators said outside temperatures ranged from 88 to 92 degrees that afternoon. Union Pacific’s train then traveled east toward San Antonio along U.S. Highway 90. Prosecutors say smugglers later opened the unit there, discovered the passengers were in peril and fled. The train later continued south to Laredo, where a yard worker found six bodies on May 10.

Authorities later found the seventh victim near tracks in San Antonio, the Justice Department reported. Four Mexican nationals and three Honduran nationals died, including a 14-year-old child. Investigators also identified a message from at least one victim pleading for help. Prosecutors charged all 11 defendants with counts involving transportation resulting in death.

One defendant remains at large

Authorities arrested eight defendants during a multi-day operation across central and south Texas last month. Agents took Mayra Alejandra Huerta into federal custody in Del Rio on May 12. Seferino Huerta-Casillas remains the only indicted defendant still at large. Border Patrol intelligence, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Marshals led the search for Garcia.

The Justice Department did not announce another court date or describe Garcia’s specific alleged role in the operation. The release also did not identify every person who paid smugglers or traveled inside trains. Garcia is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

The case also highlights how rail corridors can become a point of vulnerability when containers are accessed before movement, making seal integrity, yard security and rapid reporting critical for both safety and law enforcement response.

Click here for more articles on cargo theft and freight fraud by Phil Brink.

CBP finds $15M in meth hidden in celery load at Pharr, Texas, border crossing – FreightWaves

ACCC executes search warrant at logistics software giant WiseTech in competition probe – FreightWaves

Police recover $258K copper load from stolen J.B. Hunt trailer in North Carolina – FreightWaves

The post Texas woman surrenders in Union Pacific rail-container smuggling case that left 7 migrants dead appeared first on FreightWaves.