(Tuxtla Gutiérrez) At least 49 migrants, mostly from Guatemala, were killed Thursday in a truck accident in southern Mexico, a country more than ever caught between migratory pressure from its southern neighbors and the firmness of states -United.
Forty people were also injured, including three seriously, in this accident in the state of Chiapas bordering Guatemala, according to preliminary information from the prosecution. Eighteen other people were more lightly affected.
The migrants were crammed into a truck, according to initial explanations to the Civil Protection press. The driver allegedly fled after losing control of his overturned vehicle, local media reported.
“According to the testimonies of the survivors, most of them are from Guatemala,” said regional director of civil protection Luis Manuel Garcia.
Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei pledged “all necessary consular assistance, including repatriations” in a message of condolence and solidarity on Twitter.
“I deeply deplore the tragedy caused by the overturning of a truck in Chiapas transporting migrants from Central America. It’s very painful, ”tweeted his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Bodies were wrapped in white sheets at the scene of the accident where the Red Cross and ambulances were deployed, according to the first images on the spot.
The accident took place in the state of Chiapas, the gateway for migrants from Central America (mainly Honduras and El Salvador) in the hope of reaching the United States.
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Transporting them by truck is one of the common methods used by smugglers.
Other migrants prefer to cross the country in a “caravan” on foot, and take the opportunity to claim their rights.
The Mexican branch of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees demanded “migratory alternatives and legal avenues to avoid tragedies like this”, in its own condolence message on Twitter.
A traditional passageway, Mexico is faced this year with record arrivals of migrants coming not only from Honduras and El Salvador, but also from Haiti.
From January to October, the country registered 108,195 asylum applications, a record, according to the latest official figures.
For its part, the United States is showing firmness with regard to migrants. Their trip is “deeply dangerous and will not be successful,” warned Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a trip to Mexico in early October.
The accident took place the same day the first two migrants were returned from the United States to Mexico under a program put in place during the time of ex-President Donald Trump, suspended by Joe Biden, but reactivated by decision of the American Supreme Court.
Migrants must wait in Mexico for a response to their asylum request in the United States, according to this program called “Quedate en Mexico” (Rest in Mexico).
Another United Nations agency, the International Office for Migration (IOM), considered that it was urgent to put an end “as soon as possible and definitively” to this program “inhuman and contrary to international law”.