Detectives traced the vehicle registration from the truck back to an address in San Antonio. The two men were arrested as they left the home, which was under police surveillance. A third suspect, a US citizen who was driving the truck, has also been arrested. He is also expected to be charged, but remains in hospital. It is not clear what is wrong with the man.
The dead migrants, 39 men and 12 women, all believed to be from Central American countries, were discovered by the US immigration service on the outskirts of the South Texas city of San Antonio, about 250 kilometers from the Mexican border. The temperature at that time was 39.4 degrees Celsius. Authorities said there was no water or air conditioning in the cargo hold where the migrants were.
Eleven people survived the ordeal. They were hospitalized with symptoms of overheating and heat stroke.