GUATEMALA CITY, March 15, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Guatemala on Friday extradited the alleged leader of a human smuggling ring wanted by the United States over the deaths of 53 migrants in a sweltering truck in 2022.

Rigoberto Miranda, a 48-year-old Guatemalan who was arrested last year near the Central American nation's border with Mexico, is accused of leading the "Los Orozcos" gang.

He was flown out of Guatemala City to the United States, the director of the country's penitentiary system, Sergio Vela, told reporters.

The US embassy in Guatemala said on social media that Miranda would "face justice for human smuggling."

The United States has previously arrested several other people for their alleged involvement in the Texas tragedy.

According to US authorities, the trailer's air conditioning was not working properly and the temperature rose inside as the truck drove north.

Forty-eight people were dead when the trailer reached San Antonio and five more died later in hospital.

Miranda-Orozco is charged with conspiracy to bring an alien to the United States resulting in death and other counts, and potentially faces life in prison.

According to his indictment, the smugglers charged $12,000 to $15,000 per person to bring the migrants, who mostly hailed from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, into the United States.