Tractor-trailer in deadly smuggling attempt passed through checkpoint


The 18-wheeler used in a human-smuggling attempt that left 53 people dead inside its sweltering trailer traveled through an inland U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint with 73 migrants inside, The Associated Press and KHOU report.
A U.S official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it wasn't immediately clear whether the vehicle was stopped or passed unimpeded through the checkpoint on Interstate 35, 26 miles northeast of the border city of Laredo, Texas.
Four suspects have been arrested in connection with the tragedy, including the alleged driver of the truck, Homero Zamorano Jr. The Justice Department said Zamorano, 45, was found in a field near the truck, pretending to be one of the smuggled migrants who survived.
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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
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