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 tractor-trailer in the southeastern state of Chiapas, the National Institute of Migration (INM) reported Saturday.
According to the authorities, the foreigners were detained while driving on the stretch of the Tuxtla Gutiérrez-La Angostura highway, in Chiapa de Corzo, a municipality in the state of Chiapas.
Among the migrants found were 28 unaccompanied minors from Guatemala and 2 from El SalvadorNational Institute of Migration
According to the report of the authorities, after marking the stop to the driver of the vehicle in which the migrants were traveling, federal immigration agents heard screams and blows inside.
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"The back door was closed and the driver refused to open it, but the faces of minors, women and men were visible through three vents in the awning," authorities said.
Of the 174 migrants intercepted, 159 are from Guatemala, 8 from Ecuador, 2 from El Salvador, 3 from Honduras and 1 from Pakistan.
The back door was closed and the driver refused to open it, but the faces of minors, women and men were visible through three vents in the awning.
Mexican authorities
Among them were 28 unaccompanied minors from Guatemala and 2 from El Salvador; as well as 3 family nuclei of Ecuador and 5 of Guatemala, who will be under the tutelage and protection of the System for the Integral Development of the Family of the entity.
In the incident, three people were arrested who, it is presumed, were the drivers of the vehicle, who were taken to the immigration authorities, while the truck was secured in order to clarify the facts.
Traveling in overcrowded vehicles is one of the most dangerous ways migrants cross clandestinely into Mexico en route to the United States, paying thousands of dollars to smugglers.
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On December 9, 2021, tragedy occurred when a trailer, in which migrants were overcrowded, overturned on the road from Tuxtla Gutiérrez to Chiapa de Corzo. That accident killed 53 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.
