A total of 388 Central American migrants and those of other nationalities who were traveling crammed into the dry box of a trailer and others in an executive bus were detained in the southeastern Mexican state of Veracruz, the National Migration Institute (INM) reported Wednesday.
In a statement, the INM indicated that in two different actions, agents of the institute, dependent on the Ministry of the Interior (Interior), detected the total number of foreigners of different nationalities with irregular status.
“Both operations are part of the national strategy to deal with the irregular migratory flow,” said the INM.
The first operation took place in the booth of the municipality of Acayucan, where 54 migrants of Central American origin were identified “who were transported in an executive bus that was destined for Mexico City. “
While the second operation was recorded in the town of El Arbolillo, in the municipality of Alvarado, which allowed the location of 334 people “of different nationalities, who were traveling crowded inside the dry box of a trailer.”
In both cases, the drivers and the transport units remained at the disposal of the corresponding authorities, while the people in the context of transit were transferred to the INM offices for the start of their administrative process.
On December 9, a tragic traffic accident was recorded when a trailer overturned on the highway from Tuxtla Gutiérrez to Chiapa de Corzo, in the Mexican state of Chiapas, in which 56 migrants died.
More than 160 migrants were traveling hidden in the vehicle; the majority came from Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador.
Traveling crammed into trucks is one of the most dangerous ways migrants use to clandestinely cross Mexico after paying thousands of dollars to their smugglers.
The region is experiencing a record migratory flow to the United States, whose Customs and Border Protection Office detected more than 1.7 million undocumented immigrants on the border with Mexico in the fiscal year 2021, which ended on September 30.
While Mexico has intercepted more than 252,000 undocumented migrants from January to November and deported more than 100,000 in the same period, according to the Migration Policy Unit of the country’s Ministry of the Interior.
The Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid received a record 131,488 refugee applications in 2021.