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El Paso on the border with Mexico (archive image).
Located in far west Texas, the city is a hub, including for people smugglers.
Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
CBP officers have freed 132 tightly packed migrants from a truck trailer in the southern state of Texas, near the border with Mexico.
The truck was checked by border officials in the east of the city of El Paso based on a tip early Monday morning (local time), the authority said on Tuesday.
The trailer contained two unaccompanied minors from Guatemala and 130 adults from Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Ecuador, sources said.
"People smugglers continue to disregard the health and safety of the people they exploit for their gain," said CBP El Paso Sector President Gloria Chavez.
The smugglers' tactics endangered the lives of the migrants.
Charges should be brought against the driver and passenger of the truck, the investigation is still ongoing.
Some of the migrants were immediately deported back to Mexico, while others were taken to the facility responsible for receiving them.
The border police did not provide any information on how many people were directly deported.
tgk/dpa
