Sadly it was probably human smuggling. Smugglers dont care, they will abandon everyone if they think theyre going to get caught.
1421
Broad-Celebration-16 hr ago
+604
They probably died of dehydration and or heatstroke.
Whoever stuffed them in there didn't get them prepared for the journey.
604
sparkle-brow15 hr ago
+132
Yeah and the short article says 97 degree high there today, so in a closed boxcar? So sad. To be held up in a loading/unloading area too, whatever plan there was wasn’t thought out, they’d obvs be seen at some point. Horrible to imagine the obvs scenario of feeling so desperate.
132
TheLastBaboon16 hr ago
+61
Which doesn’t sound like human smuggling because as horrible as it sounds there is a something being sold. Unless these smugglers/coyotes/whatever didn’t care, they would have survived.
61
Aggressive_Sky849215 hr ago
+168
Presumably they already took the payment from the people to get them into the US, before transporting them
168
doesntmatterhadtacos13 hr ago
+37
God, how bad must their lives have been to want to risk your life just to be an undocumented immigrant in the US at this specific point in history?
37
fake_empires12 hr ago
+43
They don’t think about that or see it that way. To them, the US is a place where there are jobs and where gangs won’t extort you for what little you have
Trump may cross some folks radar but the vast majority will take their chances in hope of saving their family from violence or poverty
If your kid or family was being threatened by gangs, or barely had food to eat you wouldn’t think twice about
43
FrostedMiniMemes14 hr ago
+50
They're not selling the people. They're taking money from immigrants to "help" them enter the US. Money in hand, they usually just abandon these people halfway through so they don't get caught. Sometimes they live, sometimes this.
50
IBeDumbAndSlow15 hr ago
+30
I'm fairly certain Coyotes don't help people cross out of the goodness in their hearts
30
LadyJane1715 hr ago
+47
They don't care.
47
RiPFrozone15 hr ago
-18
They do, it’s bad for business. You get people smuggled across alive, you get more people willing to pay in the future. Word gets out people consistently die, they’ll go to the smuggler with a better track record.
-18
Furt_III14 hr ago
+16
Nobody is going to know who this smuggler is. Because if they did, they'd get watched.
16
Outside-Bother-129414 hr ago
+9
This is reductive American speak
9
RiPFrozone14 hr ago
-24
Business is business, you think it’s good for business if your customers die and your future customers would rather go elsewhere?
-24
Outside-Bother-129414 hr ago
+33
You’re funny if you think poverty and violence stricken South American folks have a choice to go along and read reviews on the local cayote before they risk their lives for a better life. These people do not have a choice. 100 people could have died in their hands and the slim chance will still be worth it
33
RiPFrozone14 hr ago
-22
You are crazy if you think someone spending upwards of $6k-$10k to get smuggled across isn’t thinking about who to give that money to and their best chances of survival…that’s the entire point of why they are trying to leave…survive…
-22
jaunesolo8182913 hr ago
+10
There aren’t really reviews. Only word of mouth of WhatsApp. The main criteria is can they get them over the border.
10
CupofLiberTea13 hr ago
+4
Yea I’m sure the dead migrants left them a bad review on yelp they can read.
4
MedicalDisscharge15 hr ago
+24
Yeah idk why this guy jumped to smuggling (it absolutely happens) this could absolutely be a couple hitchhikers that were just trying to wait it out until the train stopped, the article says it was 100 degrees outside, so probably closer to 120-130 in a box car
24
nickstatus15 hr ago
+43
From my misspent youth as a hobo gutter punk, the opposite is likely true. For a number of reasons, a train can stop in the middle of nowhere for an extended period of time. Sometimes its just a couple of hours. Sometimes it can be days. In Texas, you just hope you brought enough water. You can always walk to the engine, they'they've got water. But it might get you arrested. Some of the drivers know what's up, and ive even had a BNSF guy bring us a bag of bottled water and snacks completely unprompted. But, could be that portion of the train was detached for another locomotive to pick up at a later date.
Man those were some wild times, before kids 'n shit.
43
3mbersea15 hr ago
+23
Damn I want to hear more hobo gutter punk stories
23
TurnipGirlDesi14 hr ago
+31
I don’t have a story but a warning for anyone who tries to hop a freight train: stay out of the coal. Do not ride in the coal. Too many freight hoppers have tried and died because they fall asleep in it and get dumped at a coal plant and get crushed by tons of coal.
31
nickstatus14 hr ago
+13
For real they flush that shit out with high pressure steam that will skin/cook you instantly if you survive the crushing
13
Furt_III14 hr ago
+14
My ex was one for a bit. She knew at least 3 people who died doing it (one got sucked under airing out their blanket), which is a pretty bad track record as far as hobbies go.
14
blipsman14 hr ago
+8
I just finished a podcast, City of the Rails, that covers the world of train hopping hobos
8
MedicalDisscharge14 hr ago
+5
r/vagabond might scratch your itch
5
sparkle-brow14 hr ago
+3
Yeah I don’t think these were train hoppers tho also quickly considered that. Love the graffiti on trains, the sounds of, the ppl jumping on them with their dogs to get a ride to a city etc. Most of those kids come from wealthy fams but I really still get it.
Ok one train story: rode a train thru Mexico (this was in the 90’s tho), were passengers/seats in our car, but it was cargo and livestock, there were chickens and goats but like in the aisles too? Or I was delirious. Amazing food sold by train-rider and also affordable like $1. Freezing at night! Stops for hours at a time. Passed by so many random shacks/ small towns etc. absolutely beautiful and eye-opening to me bc of the adventure/imagination ++, and weirdly community oriented -seeming , as outsiders tho we only gringos on train; it also was fiercely independent, like we were lucky we had extra clothes in our bags to keep warm-ish overnight and someone sold food they made. No one talked to us, they prob thought we were stupid as shit lol. Which, we kinda were, super trusting and go-with-it. Or maybe bc guy I with was weirding them out. It was all ok/good for me.
This feels really weird to add this in comments, 6 ppl died prob trying to escape. Just wanted to join in on the fantasy about trains.
3
Objective_Truck_37913 hr ago
+1
Follow r/vegabond , good sub
1
IBeDumbAndSlow15 hr ago
+33
Because there were 6 of them. If they were able to get in on their own I'm sure they could have got out.
33
Sad-Society-5715 hr ago
+25
Boxcar doors will slam themselves shut when they get yanked by the engine. Riders will see an open car, hop in, and get locked in. It happens pretty often, unfortunately.
25
Historical_Lab861915 hr ago
+26
I live in Germany, and even here, we see cases where people from different countries end up being brought in through human smuggling networks. Unfortunately, in some situations, when smugglers feel there is a risk of getting caught by the police, they simply abandon the people they are transporting and disappear.
In the end, those individuals are left in extremely vulnerable conditions and often end up at the mercy of the authorities.
26
KimJongFunk16 hr ago
+244
Article text:
> Six people were found dead in a cargo train boxcar near a Laredo, Texas, rail yard Sunday, officials said.
> Police responded after a Union Pacific employee called to report a “trailer box car with the discovery of multiple casualties in the car” around 3 p.m. local time, police said.
> The ages of the victims and the origin of the train were not immediately released. Jose Baeza, an investigator with the Laredo Police Department, said those questions are “at the crux of the ongoing fluid investigation.”
> The Webb County medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death, police said.
Baeza said the rail yard is miles long.
> “Imagine a loading dock at a seaport, but for trains,” he said in a phone interview. “This is where they load and unload a lot of rail cars.”
> A Union Pacific spokesperson said in a statement that the company is “saddened by this incident” and is “working closely with law enforcement to investigate.
> Laredo, which borders Mexico, has one of Texas’s largest ports of entry facilitating commercial trade. As of 2024, Port Laredo accounted for 62% of the state’s land port trade, valued at nearly $340 billion, according to data collected by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
> Temperatures in Laredo on Sunday hit a high of 97 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
244
lormightymike16 hr ago
+219
Reminds me of the beginning of Season 2 of the Wire when they found 13 dead women in the shipping container.
219
sparkle-brow15 hr ago
+28
There’s a movie re crossing border illegally, “The Girl” (2012), I’d rec the movie to anyone who feels empathy or even curiosity about this article/ events.
I ran across it on tubi/Roku/Pluto free one night and watched, filmed in Nuevo Laredo (right across border from Laredo where this happened) and Oaxaca mountains, and it was surprisingly impactful.
28
ITSOVERGUYS8815 hr ago
+76
I never looked at shipping docks the same after that season. And shipping containers in general I suppose. Crooked longshoreman also.
76
IOVERCALLHISTIOCYTES14 hr ago
+23
RIP James Ransone
Ziggy, a legend of the docks
23
EggoSlayer13 hr ago
+8
GOD DAMMIT ZIGGY DON'T GET YOUR P**** OUT.
I actually just got through that season. I feel like people have mixed feelings about it with the shift to the docks but I adore that season.
8
AnomalousX129 hr ago
+1
Aw man what the f*** :( I hadn't heard about his death. His story hits a lot like Chester Bennington's.
1
teachthisdognewtrick14 hr ago
+20
It used to be a point of pride among Baltimore longshoremen that nobody pocketed more cargo than they did.
20
ClareTootheLuce8 hr ago
+1
When I worked on the docks there was a big sign that said “Pilferage is grounds for immediate termination”
I stole it.
1
Chafing_Chaffinches13 hr ago
+11
I’m not sure which came first but there was a terrible (and real) incident where 39 people died in the back of a lorry being smuggled into the UK. Horrific. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-55765213?app-referrer=deep-link
11
Mythran1216 hr ago
+117
“Imagine a loading dock at a seaport, but for trains,” he said in a phone interview. “This is where they load and unload a lot of rail cars.”
Impossible.
117
Ok-Confidence964915 hr ago
+60
Thank goodness for that comparison. Everyone knows what seaport loading docks look like, but trains?! What even are those?!
60
Mythran1213 hr ago
+11
Imagine planes and airports, actually nvm you wouldn't understand
11
the_biting_cyborg14 hr ago
+14
What a terrible way to go
14
thatgirl25_16 hr ago
+130
How strange and tragic is the reality that we currently. That people need to risk their lives and flee to other lands to feel safer. And the only thing separating us from this horrific ending is geographical luck. First world nations existing on the exploitation of the second and third world will not last.
130
the_grand_apartment15 hr ago
+20
Fleeing to the *wealthiest country on earth* only to die "like a dog". Sickening.
20
Upper_Mirror404316 hr ago
-215
How is it luck? My ancestors built this country. We somehow don’t deserve it?
-215
tommy94615 hr ago
+98
Wtf did you do other than be born? It's nothing other than luck lmao
98
j-sadmachine16 hr ago
+141
It’s luck for you. What did you do to deserve to be born where you are? Nothing. That’s the ‘luck’ part
141
151Ways15 hr ago
-134
That isn't luck at all. Every step of the way is intentional.
-134
veggeble15 hr ago
+105
Then why doesn’t everyone just choose to be born to wealthy parents?
105
GoarSpewerofSecrets15 hr ago
-66
F*** em. Either build your better world or participate in. There is no fair or equal start.
-66
TakenInChains15 hr ago
+38
so you understand the concept of starting farther back in life and yet you seem to believe in the bootstraps thing. interesting.
38
GoarSpewerofSecrets15 hr ago
-51
Bootstraps nothing. You play the hand you're dealt and don't feel guilty about it.
-51
bradicality12 hr ago
+14
The mind of a child is a wonder
14
Lirael_Gold9 hr ago
+4
I can't tell if you're advocating *for* illegal immigrants or not
4
Parepinzero15 hr ago
+45
Wow, you chose to be born here? That's amazing!
45
EndPsychological89013 hr ago
+10
Not by you, maybe by your parents. Their intention is your luck. You’re owed nothing.
10
Joranthalus15 hr ago
+40
Did you forget a /s. Or are you legit that stupid?
40
Aggressive_Sky849215 hr ago
+38
You were born to your ancestors in your country (rather than to other people on a different country) by pure luck
38
weakek15 hr ago
+33
And it took much skill and talent to choose your ancestors right? Definition of white privilege to believe they were destined or do anything special to be where they are. It’s luck pure and simple.
33
fireeight15 hr ago
+43
Bro, your ancestors *stole* this country.
43
TiaxRulesAll202415 hr ago
+17
It’s luck that they are your ancestors. How can you be so obtuse?
17
Remixxx516 hr ago
+60
Okay if you want to go the ancestor route, your ancestors stole this land 🤷
60
platasnatch15 hr ago
+7
Bet they're feeling pretty unlucky now
7
Make_It_Rain_6915 hr ago
-54
no they didnt steal all of it they bought most of it lmao
-54
commonsense201015 hr ago
+27
By massacring the natives? Wow…
27
Make_It_Rain_6915 hr ago
-29
yes they massacred the natives they didnt buy the land from natives they bought from France, Russia, Denmark, and Mexico. Those countries stole the land America stole land too but also purchased a lot of it from other countries
-29
TakenInChains15 hr ago
+14
they stole most of it
14
Make_It_Rain_6915 hr ago
-25
if thats what you believe then I advise you to read a text book
-25
TakenInChains15 hr ago
+17
textbooks aren't usually written by the indigenous people of a land, they're written by the ancestors of colonizers. why would I read a standardized textbook when our school systems currently can't even teach kids to read?
17
bensonprp15 hr ago
+10
By making them an offer they couldn't refuse.
10
Make_It_Rain_6915 hr ago
-7
who an offer? They didnt buy from Natives
-7
AnewTest13 hr ago
+13
No, they just killed the natives because they didn't consider them human beings.
13
notomatostoday15 hr ago
+7
Do we deserve what, a decent life? Sure, but not anymore than anybody else does.
What contribution do you claim your ancestors made, anyway?
7
shazmosushi--13 hr ago
+2
The strongest argument is "we are a nation of laws".
They'll always be people advocating open borders and zero immigration enforcement but that's not the law of the land.
2
OldMaidLibrarian15 hr ago
+2
And they don't, just because they weren't born here? Strictly speaking, the only "real" Americans were/are the indigenous natives; everyone else were the immigrants. E pluribus unum--out of many, one. It's not so much as melting pot as a stew, where each ingredient contributes by adding its own qualities, yet still remains distinct in the final dish.
(I say this as someone who not only had two ancestors on the Mayflower, but--according to family legend--had others who were waiting on the shore.)
2
Mikethebest7815 hr ago
+7
What an awful situation. I have horrible feeling that the current political climate being what it is we are only going to see more circumstances like this.
7
TheNeecholas15 hr ago
+8
We are in hell already
8
unKnownExperiencer_14 hr ago
-9
*cranks AC*
-9
Fragrant-Fix964214 hr ago
-12
There is a CHANCE this could be six crust punks who all od'.
83 Comments