Rights teams warn that migrants and asylum seekers journeying north by way of Mexico usually expertise violence.
The Mexican navy has revealed that troopers opened fireplace this week on a truck carrying dozens of migrants, killing six individuals.
Mexico’s Ministry of Defence introduced in a press launch on Wednesday that the incident happened close to the city of Huixtla within the southern state of Chiapas the night earlier than, on October 1.
Within the instant aftermath of the capturing, “navy 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 individuals died after being transported to a neighborhood hospital.
The capturing happened 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 by way of Mexico.
Immigrant rights teams say that violence and abuse by the hands of Mexican regulation enforcement and felony teams are widespread.
The Defence Ministry says that the 2 troopers who opened fireplace have been faraway from their posts. The case has been referred to federal prosecutors in addition to the navy’s personal tribunal.
The incident reportedly happened at round 8:50pm on Tuesday (02:50 GMT, Wednesday), when troopers seen a pick-up-like automobile shifting at a excessive pace.
The press launch explains the truck “evaded navy personnel” and was adopted by two automobiles just like these utilized by felony teams within the space. The 2 troopers opened fireplace after “listening to detonations”, the Defence Ministry stated with out providing additional particulars.
The navy stated it’s working with Mexico’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs to coordinate with embassies representing the nations of the victims. The 17 migrants unhurt within the capturing have been handed over to Mexican migration authorities.
Critics say migrants and asylum seekers making the journey north in direction of the US usually pay the value 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 rigidity 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 entry to asylum alongside the border with Mexico, a transfer extensively denounced by immigrant rights teams.
Final 12 months, 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 felony teams, amongst different threats.
