Mexico: the labyrinth of Tapachula, an open-air prison on the southern border

By Elena Reina (El País)

What was once the central park of Tapachula is now a labyrinth. A network of alleys delimited by barbed wire where hundreds of migrants wander with no other goal than to stave off hunger for a few hours, to tire their bodies enough to manage to fall asleep alongside dozens of other exhausted bodies in a room without ventilation or water. There is no work or any other means of livelihood other than cash sent by a loved one and collected from money transfer agencies where hundreds of people line up. The sidewalks of this city, the largest on the entire border between Mexico and Guatemala, its concrete benches and melting asphalt, are the bars of an open-air prison.An even poorer corner than the rest of Mexico where tens of thousands of migrants arrive as best they can before being sent home by bus.

Tapachula has become the biggest funnel

This article is for subscribers only.

You have 94% left to discover.

Freedom has no borders, like your curiosity.

Continue reading your article for € 1 the first month

I ENJOY IT

Already subscribed?

Log in