Six Immigrants Killed by Mexican Soldiers Near Border
Six migrants died after Mexican soldiers opened fire on a truck carrying them near the Guatemala border in Chiapas. The Defense Department stated that the soldiers shot in response to what they claimed were gunshots as the truck approached. Four migrants were initially found dead, with two others later succumbing to their injuries, while 12 were reported wounded. The truck was carrying a total of 33 migrants from various countries, including Egypt, Nepal, and Cuba. It’s unclear if the soldiers’ fire caused the deaths or if any weapons were found in the vehicle.
Two soldiers involved have been relieved of duty pending investigations, and local prosecutors confirmed all victims died from gunshot wounds. Previous incidents involving military forces opening fire on migrant vehicles have been reported in the area, highlighting ongoing concerns about safety during migration journeys and the powers granted to military forces under current government policies led by President Claudia Sheinbaum. The UN has expressed its concern about the risks migrants face and the need for safer legal migration routes to prevent tragedies like these.
Six international migrants are dead after Mexican soldiers opened fire on a truck carrying a group near the border with Guatemala, Mexico’s Defense Department said Wednesday.
The department said in a statement that soldiers claimed they heard shots as the trucks and two other vehicles approached their position late Tuesday in the southern state of Chiapas, near the town of Huixtla.
Two soldiers opened fire on the truck, which was carrying migrants from Egypt, Nepal, Cuba, India, Pakistan and at least one other country.
Soldiers then approached the truck and found four of the migrants dead and 12 wounded.
Two of the wounded later died of their injuries.
There was no immediate information on the condition of the other 10.
Local prosecutors confirmed all the victims died of gunshot wounds.
The Defense Department did not say whether the migrants died as a result of army fire, or whether any weapons were found in the truck.
Six international migrants were killed when Mexican soldiers opened fire on a truck near the Guatemalan border.
The truck, carrying migrants from Egypt, Nepal, Cuba, India, Pakistan, and others, was fired upon after soldiers reported hearing shots. #Mexico #MigrantTragedy pic.twitter.com/EXfnpguTph— The Tatva (@thetatvaindia) October 3, 2024
There were 17 other migrants in the truck who were unharmed. The vehicle was carrying a total of 33 migrants.
The road is a common route for smuggling migrants, who are often packed into crowded freight trucks.
The department said the two soldiers who opened fire were relieved of duty pending investigations.
In Mexico, any incident involving civilians is subject to civilian prosecution, but soldiers can also face military courts martial for those offenses.
It is not the first time Mexican forces have opened fire on vehicles carrying migrants in the area, which is also the object of turf battles between warring drug cartels.
In the same area in 2021, the quasi-military National Guard opened fire on a pickup truck carrying migrants, killing one and wounding four.
Irineo Mujica, a migrant rights activist who has frequently accompanied caravans of migrants in that area of Chiapas, said he doubted the migrants or their smugglers opened fire.
“It is really impossible that these people would have been shooting at the army,” Mujica said. “Most of the time, they get through by paying bribes.”
The U.N. agency for refugees in Mexico, known as the ACNUR, wrote that it “expresses its concern about the events in Chiapas,” noting “people in migration are exposed to great risks during their journey, and that is why it is indispensable they have legal means of access, travel, and integration to avoid tragedies like these.”
If the deaths were the result of army fire, as appears likely, it could prove a major embarrassment for President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office Tuesday.
Sheinbaum has followed the lead of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador in giving the armed forces extraordinary powers in law enforcement, state-run companies, airports, trains and construction projects.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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