Hundreds of migrants continue to be discovered being illegally detained

Mexican authorities discovered 491 migrants being held illegally in a compound in the central state of Puebla.

Mexico tìm thấy gần 500 người di cư bị giam giữ trái phép

Children and adolescents account for more than half of all migrants detained illegally. (Source: DLA)

The majority of the victims were Guatemalan (485 people), including 277 children and adolescents, most of whom were accompanied by family members. However, there were also 52 unaccompanied minors. The remaining six victims were Honduran.

The migrants were detained in a fenced-off area near the city of Puebla. Smugglers often hide migrants in locations like this before loading them onto buses or trucks heading to the U.S. border.

The group of migrants has now been moved to a nearby facility run by the Mexican Institute of Migration (INM), where they are provided with food, water, and medical care.

In late June, authorities also discovered 129 Guatemalan migrants crammed into a truck in the eastern state of Veracruz. A month earlier, 175 illegal migrants were found in the state of Chiapas, mostly from Central America.

According to the Mexican Foreign Ministry, the number of migrants currently residing at the border between the two countries decreased by more than 50% in May and June, after Section 42 of the immigration policy applied by the US during the Covid-19 pandemic expired.

Regarding the issue of migrants, in another development on the same day, the Director of Panama's National Migration Agency, Samira Gozaine, criticized Colombia for its lack of cooperation in controlling the flow of illegal migrants crossing the Darien jungle on the border between the two countries.

Ms. Gozaine stated that Panama has not reached any agreement with Colombia on the issue, nor has it received any information sharing or assistance in handling the significantly increased influx of illegal migrants in recent days.

Panama has recorded a record number of illegal migrants crossing the Darien jungle since the beginning of the year, reaching 260,000, exceeding the total number recorded in all of 2022.

Panama has deported numerous Colombian citizens, most of whom have criminal records.

Source