The Laredo Police Department confirmed that six dead bodies were found in Laredo, Texas inside a car box on Sunday. A union worker reportedly found the bodies in a train yard at a remote location, and later it was confirmed that they were all dead. Police have not determined the cause of their death as yet, while an investigation into the matter continues.
According to The New York Times, Investigator Joe E. Baeza, a spokesman, confirmed the deaths of six individuals in Laredo. It all happened at approximately 3 p.m. A Union Pacific worker who loaded and unloaded train cars at a rail yard discovered the bodies before heading north. The identities of the dead individuals were also not known on Sunday.
🚨🇺🇸🇲🇽 WTF! 6 bodies were found inside a Union Pacific cargo train boxcar in Laredo, Texas.
Cops discovered them this afternoon in 90+ degree heat.
Were they literally cooked alive in that metal coffin?
Some mexican cartel involvement is not out of the picture yet
Source:… pic.twitter.com/71lFF30Cj6
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 11, 2026
In an official statement, Union Pacific spokesman Daryl Bjoraas said, “Union Pacific is saddened by this incident and is working closely with law enforcement to investigate.”
Laredo is on the Mexico-U.S. border, while the freight company, Union Pacific, lists its official website as saying it operates across the border and is the “only railroad with access to all six gateways.”
According to CNN, the weather on Sunday afternoon was in the low mid-90s. Nevertheless, the officials have not confirmed the cause of death or whether the heat may have played a role. On the other hand, Espinoza called it an “unfortunate incident,” noting that too many people lost their lives.
🚨 HORRIFIC FIND: 6 BODIES DISCOVERED IN UNION PACIFIC BOXCAR 🚨
Six people were found dead inside a locked Union Pacific boxcar at the Port Laredo Intermodal Terminal railyard near I-35 mile marker 13 in Laredo, Texas, this Sunday afternoon.
Laredo police responded around 4 PM… pic.twitter.com/nvgxO3EFy3
— Mr. Gen X (@MrGenX_) May 11, 2026
The *NYT* report also notes that there have been similar incidents in the last decade where people have been found dead in or near the U.S. border cities. Many of those victims were reportedly migrants who were not aware of the substantial increase in the temperature inside such containers. It also claims that one of the worst migrant smuggling tragedies on U.S. record occurred in 2022. That incident involved 53 migrants, including 47 adults and six children.
Another disturbing event unfolded the following year, in which the bodies of two people, purported to be migrants, were found, along with five others who were in serious condition. They were also found inside a shipping container on a train in Texas’s Uvalde County.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol agents in Laredo rescued 23 migrants in 2024. The migrants were trapped inside a locked train compartment as temperatures approached 100 degrees. Officials said none of the migrants were injured. Meanwhile, border crossings have sharply declined during the second Trump administration amid his deportation drive.
The NYT report further notes that U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported more than 63,000 encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border as of March 2026. It also insists that the agency uses the term “encounters” to cover several situations, including migrants taken into custody and individuals denied entry while attempting to enter legally.
If a comparison is drawn, the agency data suggests that border encounters topped 2 million in each of the final two years of the Biden administration.
