Rights teams warn that migrants and asylum seekers journeying north via Mexico typically expertise violence.
The Mexican army has revealed that troopers opened hearth this week on a truck carrying dozens of migrants, killing six folks.
Mexico’s Ministry of Defence introduced in a press launch on Wednesday that the incident befell close to the city of Huixtla within the southern state of Chiapas the night earlier than, on October 1.
Within the fast aftermath of the taking pictures, “army personnel recognized 33 migrants of Egyptian, Nepalese, Cuban, Indian, Pakistani and Arab nationality, of whom 4 had died, 12 injured and 17 unhurt”, in keeping with the press launch.
It added that two extra folks died after being transported to a neighborhood hospital.
The taking pictures befell about 41km (25 miles) from town of Tapachula on the border with Guatemala, an space the place many migrants and asylum seekers start their perilous journey north via Mexico.
Immigrant rights teams say that violence and abuse by the hands of Mexican regulation enforcement and prison teams are frequent.
The Defence Ministry says that the 2 troopers who opened hearth have been faraway from their posts. The case has been referred to federal prosecutors in addition to the army’s personal tribunal.
The incident reportedly befell at round 8:50pm on Tuesday (02:50 GMT, Wednesday), when troopers observed a pick-up-like automobile shifting at a excessive pace.
The press launch explains the truck “evaded army personnel” and was adopted by two autos just like these utilized by prison teams within the space. The 2 troopers opened hearth after “listening to detonations”, the Defence Ministry mentioned with out providing additional particulars.
The army mentioned it’s working with Mexico’s Ministry of International Affairs to coordinate with embassies representing the nations of the victims. The 17 migrants unhurt within the taking pictures have been handed over to Mexican migration authorities.
Critics say migrants and asylum seekers making the journey north in the direction of the USA typically pay the worth of escalating regulation enforcement efforts.
The US authorities has pushed Mexico to extend enforcement efforts to stem irregular migration northwards, although the difficulty has been a degree of pressure between the 2 nations.
Former Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, for example, criticised US efforts to construct a wall alongside the 2 nations’ shared border.
The administration of US President Joe Biden has additionally moved to limit access to asylum alongside the border with Mexico, a transfer broadly denounced by immigrant rights teams.
Final yr, the Worldwide Group for Migration named the trail to the US-Mexico border the “deadliest land route for migrants worldwide”, citing dangers from the setting and prison teams, amongst different threats.