Nicaraguan sentenced for smuggling conspiracy resulting in death

LAREDO, Texas – A 49-year-old Nicaraguan citizen illegally in the United States has been ordered to federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to transport undocumented aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Arling Antonio Gutierrez-Garcia pleaded guilty March 10.

Today, U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña ordered him to serve 72 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, Gutierrez-Garcia is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. At the hearing, the court considered the conditions inside the trailer, law enforcement efforts in the heat and prior statements four of the aliens had made. In handing down the sentence, the court noted Gutierrez-Garcia was lucky that more persons did not die. She also added that he could have stayed and assisted the aliens not able to exit and offered assistance to those in distress, instead of running away into the brush.

“Transporting dozens of human beings in a vinyl-covered all metal trailer in the South Texas summer heat demonstrates the callousness and indifference of smugglers to human life,” said Hamdani. “The sweltering heat that built up in this vehicle which was designed not for people, but for hauling sand, rock and other materials maximized the potential for injury and the eventual and tragic death of one of the victims. Gutierrez-Garcia will now pay the price for his inhumane crime.”

On June 6, 2022, Gutierrez-Garcia drove a semi-tractor pulling a belly-dump trailer with 63 citizens from Mexico and Guatemala. The metal trailer was covered with a vinyl tarp, thereby eliminating air circulation and increasing temperatures which led to the aliens’ distress.

Gutierrez-Garcia noticed them jumping out the trailer from a tear in the tarp they had made. He then stopped the semi-tractor in west Webb County on a private ranch road where law enforcement saw him standing by the cab.

Law enforcement and medical personnel provided assistance to the individuals located in the trailer and brush. One alien was found at the bottom of the trailer’s pit and pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities apprehended Gutierrez-Garcia in the brush, at which time he claimed he was being transported with the others. However, the investigation revealed he was the driver of the vehicle.

He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol, Sheriff’s Offices in Webb and Dimmit Counties, Webb County District Attorney’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Homero Ramirez prosecuted the case.