Christian Martinez took the stand in federal court Friday and Monday.
SAN ANTONIO — A coordinator with the 2022 human smuggling operation that killed 53 migrants in a sweltering tractor trailer took the stand in federal court again Monday.
Christian Martinez has pleaded guilty to multiple counts in this case. Now, Martinez plays a key role in the trial of two other men accused in this operation.
His testimony will help decide what Felipe Orduna Torres and Armando Gonzales Ortega’s roles allegedly were in the operation on June 27, 2022. They’re the two out of a group of men accused of conspiring to smuggle migrants over the border in 2022, leading up to what would become the deadliest human smuggling incident in U.S. history. If convicted, the two men face life in prison.
Martinez described his role, where he says he helped find the drivers for every operation and communicated with both alleged aliases used by the co-defendants: Orduna-Torres aka “Cholo” and Armando Gonzales-Ortega aka “El Don” or “Don Gon” in the operations.
Out of seven drivers accused in this smuggling organization’s operations, Martinez said he recruited three of them: Daniel Chavez, Othell Brown and Homero Zamorano Jr.
On the day of June 27, 2022 he worked with “Cowboy,” “Don Gon” and “Cholo.”
Martinez was addicted to drugs, homeless and living in his car at the time of involvement and admitted to using cocaine as well as meth to stay awake during trips. He also had prior issues with law enforcement.
On that fateful day, Martinez said he and Zamorano Jr. were both on drugs, as they were for most operations. Martinez said Zamorano Jr., the driver of the tractor trailer was high on meth while Martinez was high on cocaine.
Martinez would stay at the Valero gas station near Quintana Road when he said Zamorano Jr. called him and said people were screaming and banging on the inside of the trailer. Martinez said he relayed this to Cholo and Cowboy.
“We were told not to stop and keep going,” Martinez said. “I was shaking, scared and couldn’t help.”
When he got to Quintana Road, Martinez remembers seeing a little girl in the road screaming for her mother. Once he made it to the back of the trailer he recalled seeing bodies stacked on top of each other but he didn’t do anything.
He left the scene, claiming he had made sure police and ambulance were on the way. Martinez said he was devastated by what he saw, crying on the stand, claiming he didn’t intend for this outcome.
“I was helping my people get to America,” Martinez said on the stand.
Martinez would be arrested in Palestine, Texas the next day.
The defense challenged Martinez’s credibility and accused him of embellishing stories. He was questioned as to why he didn’t help victims despite talking to the crying girl, as well as highlighting contradictions in his story versus the police interview.
The existence of “Cowboy” was even brought up as the prosecution has not named the alias in the trial as being part of the organization’s hierarchy.
Martinez insisted Cowboy and Cholo were the bosses but Cowboy always gave him the money. Martinez acknowledged his role but said he was following orders and didn’t intend for anyone to die.
“I was sad,” Martinez said. “I’ve been changed.”
Border Patrol Agent Israel Perez and Former Border Patrol Agent Juan Ramirez, were also brought to the stand by the prosecution.
Perez and Ramirez spoke to their experiences with tractor trailers crossing the border with migrants smuggled in the back trailer.
They named co-conspirators that were involved in the June 27 tragedy to also be involved in three other operations that had been caught at the border. One where 63 migrants were discovered in a refrigerated trailer and another where 73 were found.
The agents also described similar tactics used to disguise the human scent from border agents and the K-9s when crossing the border such as seasoning laid about the trailer. The co-conspirators also would re-paint trailers to make them look new and zip tie their license plates.
The trial is ongoing. We will provide updates as it continues.