Cristina Gómez Lima
Correspondent
La Jornada Newspaper
Tuesday, December 31, 2024, p. 4
Hermosillo, Sonora., Arizona Border Patrol agents intercepted two migrants injured by gunshots when they were trying to cross into the United States, accompanied by five others.
According to reports from the Customs and Border Protection Office of the neighboring country, the elements who arrested the group of seven undocumented immigrants west of the Sasabe community realized that two of them had gunshot wounds.
In a statement released on social networks, the Border Patrol reported that the injured, a 22-year-old young man with shots in both thighs, and a 42-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the ankle, stated that they were attacked in Mexican territory by groups from rival human traffickers (polleros), before crossing the border.
The corporation stated that its agents provided them with immediate medical attention and coordinated their transfer to a hospital near the place where they were found. At press time, authorities had not revealed the identity or nationality of the migrants.
The routes controlled by networks of polleros are frequent scenes of violent confrontations between antagonistic gangs, leaving undocumented immigrants trapped in the crossfire.
According to civil organizations, these attacks have intensified in recent years, fueled by the militarization of the border and the tightening of immigration policies.
Three weeks into his second term as president of the United States, Donald Trump has renewed threats to impose greater restrictions on his southern border, including an additional deployment of agents and the use of advanced surveillance technology. He has described migrants as threat
for national security.
