US woman jailed for smuggling, leaving 19 dead

A woman convicted of leading the United States’ deadliest smuggling attempt has been sentenced to more than 17 years in a federal prison.

Before her sentencing in Houston yesterday, Karla Patricia Chavez Joya sobbed and asked for forgiveness for her role in the May 2003 smuggling operation that left 19 immigrants dead.

“To say I have no compassion for those people, that is not true,” she said in court.

US District Judge Vanessa Gilmore gave Chavez a sentence that surpassed federal guidelines, which called for 11 years to 14 years.

Gilmore said she settled on the sentence after concluding Chavez was a leader in the smuggling operation and to “reflect the seriousness of the offence and the fact 19 people died”.

Prosecutors had asked the judge to impose a life sentence for Chavez, who had pleaded guilty to being involved in a smuggling conspiracy that led to the death of an immigrant.

They contended Chavez shared most of the responsibility for ushering at least 74 people into a sealed lorry trailer.

Authorities have said the temperature reached 78 degrees celcius inside the trailer.

The victims, including a five-year-old boy, died from dehydration, overheating and suffocation.