San Antonio Truck Migrant Tragedy: Guatemalan Survivor Says They Can't Breathe Inside Trailer

A survivor of the tragic semi-truck incident that killed 53 migrants trying to get to the United States has talked to the media from her hospital bed in Texas. Yenifer Yulisa Cardona Tomás is 20 years old and hails from the capital of Guatemala, Guatemala City.

She spoke about her experiences and highlighted the harsh conditions the smugglers imposed upon her and the other migrants. Cardona Tomás said it was already a hot day on June 27, the day the incident happened, as they waited for the truck on the Texas side of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Migrant Survivor Talks About Her Harrowing Experience Inside the Trailer

According to the Associated Press, miss Cardona Tomás told the media about her experience via a video interview using a phone, she recalled that smugglers confiscated their phones and covered the trailer floor with what she believes is powdered chicken bouillon. This may have been used to throw off sniffer dogs they might encounter at checkpoints. With the weather already hot outside, she said that being packed inside the trailer with dozens of others made it stifling.

And because it was so hot inside, she remembered an advice from a friend to stay near the doors because it's cooler there. That piece of advice might have ended up saving her life. She would then tell another friend who she was traveling with about it. Together, they did not stay at the end of the trailer, but nearer to the doors. The same friend also survived, likely because of that other friend's crucial advice.

The truck would make additional stops to pick up more migrants along the way. And as more people get stuffed inside the trailer, more people began to cluster near the door with her and her friend.

It became hotter inside, and people were getting thirstier. Some cried out and called out for help. Some were calling for the driver to stop. She then said that some could not breathe.

A person, perhaps the driver, then yelled that they were about to arrive in 20 minutes. Some asked for water, as the truck made continuous stops to pick up more migrants. She lost consciousness because of the heat, and the next thing she remembered was that she was already in the hospital. Yenifer Yulisa Cardona Tomás is currently receiving treatment at the Methodist Hospital Metropolitan in San Antonio.

Survivor Asked Her Father To Help Her Migrate

ABC News reported that she said her father helped her get into the U.S. and paid $4,000 for a smuggler to take her there. The main reason he helped her is because of the stories of children leaving and not telling their families and ending up disappearing as they try to get into the United States.

Her father also talked to the media and said that he stayed in touch with her daughter up until the morning of June 27, before their cellphones were confiscated. It was not until late at night that her family learned of the incident. Her father said they cried and were even thinking that they were going to have a wake and bury her. However, she survived and said that she is a miracle.

Guatemala's Foreign Ministry said 20 of its citizens passed away in the tragedy. They also claimed that 16 of those who died have been positively identified already. Foreign Minister Mario Búcaro told the Associated Press that he hoped that the first bodies be repatriated this week.

The driver and three others have already been arrested, and they have also been already charged. A memorial was erected by citizens at the site where the truck was discovered.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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