A group of 45 migrants traveling in the hidden compartment of a truck was intercepted by Mexican authorities in the state of Veracruz (east), the National Migration Institute reported Monday (INM).
Agents of the National Guard made the discovery in the early hours of Monday and it was reported to the INM, which was in charge of assisting the migrants, who were traveling crowded in the truck that appeared to be transporting industrial waste.
«When opening the rear door of the cargo transport, only crushed metal sheets, tubes, lids and cans were visible; however, people’s voices could be heard behind it,” the Migration office explained in a statement.
In the lower right part of the wall that formed the industrial waste, a passageway was revealed that could only be entered or exited by a person on their knees, according to the description of the authority.
“Upon entering the compartment, mattresses were found between cyclone mesh walls that were attached to tubular structures, where foreign migrants were taken without ventilation,” the statement added.
Of the 45 foreigners, 20 are from Venezuela, nine from the Dominican Republic, five from Ecuador, five from Cuba, three from Bangladesh, one from Guatemala, one from El Salvador and one from Nicaragua. Of the total, 11 are women and 34 men, all of legal age, the INM specified.
He added that the foreigners were transferred to a migration station in the municipality of Acayucán, in Veracruz, where contact was established with the consular authorities of their countries and their legal situation will be defined.
Trucking is one of the most dangerous modalities used by smugglers to transport undocumented migrants seeking to reach the United States.
On June 27, 56 migrants suffocated to death in an abandoned trailer near San Antonio, Texas, including 26 Mexicans.
Meanwhile, on December 9, a trailer carrying some 160 migrants crashed into a pedestrian bridge on a highway in Chiapas (south), leaving 56 dead.
Since 2014, some 6,430 migrants have died or disappeared en route to the United States, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and 850 perished in accidents or due to traveling in subhuman conditions.
