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Mexico: 600 migrants rescued from 2 trailers

November 21, 2021

The migrants were "crammed" into the trailers of two trucks, according to the local head of the Human Rights Commission. Most were from the neighboring state of Guatemala.

https://p.dw.com/p/43IrU
Mexico migrants trailer
Migrants were detained from cargo trailers in Mexico’s Veracruz stateImage: Felix Marquez/AP Photo/picture alliance

Close to 600 migrants from 12 countries were found crammed in the back of two tractor-trailers in eastern Mexico, the country’s National Migration Institute (INM) said on Saturday. Most were from the neighboring state of Guatemala.

The institute said that 145 women and 455 men were found as the trailers moved across Mexico’s southeastern state of Veracruz. While 401 people were from Guatemala, 53 came from Honduras, 40 from the Dominican Republic, 27 from Nicaragua, 18 from El Salvador, four from Venezuela, another four from Ecuador, and eight from Cuba.

Some migrants also came from Africa and the Indian subcontinent, including 37 from Bangladesh, an Indian man, six from Ghana, and one man from Cameroon.

Pregnant women, 'sick people' among the migrants found

The migrants were "crammed" into the trailers of two trucks, according to Tonatiuh Hernandez, the local head of the Human Rights Commission.

Mexiko Veracruz Truck Migranten Schmuggel
The migrants hailed from other countries in Central America, Africa and the Indian subcontinentImage: Felix Marquez/AP Photo/picture alliance

"There are children, minors, I saw pregnant women, sick people," Hernandez said.

The migrants had been detained and would either be sent home or given the chance to stay in Mexico legally.

Mexico serves as a corridor between Central America and the United States for thousands of migrants seeking a better life away from the poverty and violence in their home countries. 

Mexico: Migrants stuck in Tapachula

However, the flow of undocumented migrants has seen a spike after US President Joe Biden took office and promised a more humane approach towards the border crisis than former President Donald Trump. 

see/wd (AFP, Reuters)