Unfortunately, the recent tragedy in which at least 53 people lost their lives and 14 others were injured, locked in a trailer trailer in Texas, is no exception.
It is part of the terrible reality experienced by thousands of people who leave their places of origin in search of better living conditions and is added to the long list of tragic events in recent years.
Migrants who flee from homicidal violence or from the misery that afflicts them in their countries of origin, are exposed to a series of risks during the journey that leads them to a longed-for better future.
The unfortunate death of these migrants is the responsibility of numerous actors.
Human trafficking is a transnational crime that, in our region, is made up of criminal networks that operate from Central America to the United States, with corrupt authorities in the countries of origin, transit and destination, smugglers, coyotes, transporters and other criminals involved in this illegal.
Given this, an effective response is urgently needed, with a broad, comprehensive approach and a regional perspective.
In the first place, the push factors of migration must be addressed, which force people to leave their country to save their lives or in search of better opportunities.
Violence and threats from organized crime groups have become the main causes that motivate migration.
Entire families have left places like Tierra Caliente, both from Guerrero and Michoacán, from various areas of Zacatecas and Veracruz, seeking to survive.
Likewise, migrants from Honduras and El Salvador have fled their countries due to threats from gangs, gender-based violence and the permanent risk of losing their lives.
Most of the deceased migrants so far (27) were Mexican.
Since mid-2020 and to date, migration from our country has increased.
Situation that we had not seen for a decade, there was even talk of a zero-rate migration, since there were more Mexicans who returned, than those who went to the United States.
2021 was the year with the highest migration of compatriots in the last 10 years.
During 2020, nearly 297,000 Mexican migrants were detained by the border patrol, while in 2021 the figure rose to 655,000 and so far in 2022, it has already exceeded 560,000 detainees.
In addition, it should be noted that, increasingly, unaccompanied minors and minors in family nuclei are part of the migratory phenomenon.
15% of the total flows correspond to migrant children.
So far in 2022 alone, nearly 20,000 unaccompanied children have been detained by US authorities.
The San Antonio misfortune was no exception and at least four minors were injured.
It is urgent to guarantee the best interests of children and advance in a prompt family reunification of those affected.
Tragedies like the one that happened have given rise, time and time again, to declarations, promises and unscrupulous use by politicians and officials.
It is necessary to go beyond speeches and focus on the design and implementation of an effective transnational policy to reduce and weaken the millionaire criminal industry related to human trafficking.
Traffickers deceive people, prey on their vulnerability, abuse and enrich themselves off of their suffering and need.
But, in addition, they have reached levels of dehumanization never seen before, with zero respect for the life and dignity of people on the move.
The impunity that prevails, often encouraged by the difficulties in initiating a process against those responsible, as well as the lack of complaints and follow-up by migrants,
We must not lose sight of the fact that the mass murder of these migrants, in addition to being outrageous and deeply painful, is a reflection of limited migration policies and strategies and of the abandonment in which institutions, governments and society have left people in mobility.
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