Mexican authorities intercepted 174 migrants, 28 of them minors, of Central American, South American and Asian origin, who were traveling in overcrowded conditions inside a truck in the southeastern state of Chiapas, reported this Saturday the Migration’s national institute (INM).
According to the authorities, the foreigners were detained while they were traveling on the Tuxtla Gutiérrez-La Angostura highway section, at the intersection called Las Limas, in Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas municipality.
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According to the authorities’ report, after calling a halt to the driver of the vehicle where the migrants were traveling, Federal Migration Agents heard screams and blows inside.
“The back door was closed and the driver refused to open it, but the faces of minors, women and men were visible through three spelled vents in the awning”the authorities specified.
Of the 174 migrants intercepted, 159 are from Guatemala, 8 from Ecuador, 2 from El Salvador, 3 from Honduras and 1 from Pakistan.
Among them were 28 unaccompanied minors from Guatemala and 2 from El Salvador; as well as 3 families from Ecuador and 5 from Guatemala, who will remain under the guardianship and protection of the entity’s System for the Integral Development of the Family.
#InformationCard 📄 @INAMI_mxwith the support of the National Guard and State Police, carried out the massive rescue of 175 #migrants 🇬🇹🇪🇨🇸🇻🇩🇴🇵🇰🇭🇳 who were traveling crowded in the box of a truck that circulated through Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas. pic.twitter.com/D3u7g2MD92
— INM (@INAMI_mx) May 26, 2023
arrests
In the act, three people were detained, presumed to be the drivers of the truck, who were taken before the immigration authorities, while the vehicle was insured, in order to clarify the facts and establish responsibilities.
Traveling crammed into different vehicles is one of the most dangerous ways migrants use to clandestinely cross Mexico to the United States, for which they pay thousands of dollars to traffickers.
On December 9, 2021, a tragedy occurred when a trailer packed with migrants overturned on the highway from Tuxtla Gutiérrez to Chiapa de Corzo, in the southeastern state of Chiapas, an accident that killed 56 migrants.
Mexico is experiencing a record migratory flow, with 2.76 million undocumented immigrants detained at the border with the United States in fiscal year 2022 and, according to data provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the migratory flow increased by 8 % in Mexican territory.
