Mexico Detains 167 Nicaraguan Migrants in a Single Day
Some 127 Nicaraguans were traveling crammed in a container, while the other 40 were traveling in a bus. All have been sent to shelters.
HAVANA TIMES – Mexican authorities detained 167 Nicaraguan migrants who were traveling illegally to the United States on Saturday, August 13. Of these, 127 were traveling in a trailer that was stopped a few kilometers from the state of Coahuila, in northern Mexico; the other 40 were being transported in a bus intercepted in the state of Puebla, in central Mexico.
The National Migration Institute (INM)) explained that the first group of 127 Nicaraguans was made up of “109 men, 17 women and one minor.”
“All the adults were taken to a shelter for medical examinations, in addition they were provided with water and food,” the INM informed. In the case of the minor, along with her parents, she will remain under custody of the National System for Integral Family Development.
According to a video recorded by journalists in the area, the migrants were traveling in a completely overcrowded condition in a closed cargo trailer, and although they claim that the air conditioning was on during the trip, the pressure and heat inside was strong due to the excess of people.
It was learned that the authorities will transfer the migrants to the National Migration Institute in Coahuila, although it is their responsibility to send them to Piedras Negras. However, they explained that the institute in that State has already exceeded its limit of migrants.
Migrants ask to continue their journey
The Nicaraguans gave brief statements to journalists and assured that their relatives are already aware of their detention and are asking the Mexican authorities to let them continue their journey to the border.
The detention of the trailer, license plate 25-AH-8X, occurred at Kilometer 80 of Federal Highway 57, between the municipalities of Monclova and Sabinas, Coahuila.
“The driver was arrested and placed at the disposal, along with the vehicle, of the Attorney General’s Office, in Monclova, where an investigation folder was created for the crime of human trafficking,” the INM pointed out.
This would be the largest detention of Nicaraguan migrants reported this year. In recent months, Mexican authorities have found several trailers with containers full of migrants from Central America, Cuba and South America.
In February, the case of a pregnant Nicaraguan national who was traveling in an overcrowded container that was abandoned and who died after being crushed by an avalanche of people that occurred when the migrants tried to leave the container was reported. Her husband, daughter and a brother who were traveling with her returned to Nicaragua after the tragedy.
Another 40 Nicaraguan migrants rescued
The other 40 Nicaraguans detained were traveling with migrants from El Salvador, Cuba, and Ecuador. In total, some 121 migrants were being transported on a bus.
“A bus was found with 121 foreigners being transported illegally. One came from Cuba, two from El Salvador, 39 from Guatemala, 39 from Honduras and 40 from Nicaragua,” informed Federal Migration Agents.
The detention of migrants occurred on the Orizaba-Puebla highway near the town of San Bartolome Hueyapan. The bus driver was detained and will be investigated by the Attorney General’s Office, while the migrants were taken to the INM facilities to continue with their administrative migration process.
Nicaraguan migration to the United States has increased exponentially since July 2021. According to figures of the Bureau of Custom and Border Protection, there were 87,575 detentions of Nicaraguans nationals this year, that is, 25 times more than those received the previous year. And in the first semester of 2022 alone, 84,055 more Nicaraguans had already migrated.
It is estimated that since March 2022 to date 35 Nicaraguan migrants have died in their attempt to reach the United States according to CONFIDENCIAL monitoring. Of these 24 died drowned in the waters of the Rio Bravo, eight in traffic accidents, two abandoned in a trailer, including a pregnant woman, and two from heart attacks.
The month with most deaths reported was May with at least 19 deaths. However, the list continues to grow because there are 175 bodies in the morgue of Laredo, Texas, that have not been identified and could include more Nicaraguans.