(Ciudad Juárez) About 400 Venezuelan migrants were dislodged by the police from a camp they had occupied since the end of October opposite the United States border in Ciudad Juarez (north), according to an AFP journalist on the spot.
Several dozen riot police and members of the Mexican National Guard took part in this operation ordered by the municipality because of the risk of fire. Civil security was concerned about the fires that migrants lit in front of their makeshift plastic tents to protect themselves from the cold.
The camp had been erected on the banks of the Rio Bravo, called Rio Grande in the United States, which marks the US-Mexico border.
More than six million Venezuelans have left their country since 2015 according to the UN, in the face of the authoritarian regime of Nicolas Maduro and the economic slump. Many attempt to reach the United States via Central America and Mexico.
On October 13, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that Venezuelans who illegally cross the US border will now be automatically deported to Mexico. In return, Washington has promised to establish a program to allow 24,000 people to immigrate legally directly from Venezuela.