Edgar H. Clemente
Correspondent
The newspaper La Jornada
Thursday, September 12, 2024, p. 8
Tapachula, Chis., Elements of the Mexican Army and agents of the National Institute of Migration (INM) freed more than 100 migrants who were kidnapped in the municipality of Suchiate, on the border with Guatemala, security sources announced.
They said that federal forces received an anonymous report about the presence of dozens of undocumented immigrants in a house located in the El Rosario neighborhood, so they implemented an operation. Upon arriving at the site, agents and soldiers heard cries for help coming from the building with a barred door and canvas roof.
At the scene they found men, women and minors of various nationalities who said they were there. against their will
The alleged captors fled before the arrival of military personnel and INM staff, the migrants themselves said.
At least 50 men, more than 50 women and about 20 minors, mostly from Venezuela, Ecuador and Honduras, were transferred to the INM’s Siglo XXI immigration station in Tapachula.
A uniformed officer who participated in the custody operation during the rescue and transfer of the foreigners assured that while the actions were taking place, gunshots were heard near the safe house
.
He added that according to the undocumented migrants, they had barely crossed the Suchiate River – which divides Mexico from Guatemala – when their kidnappers captured them and demanded various amounts, between 200 and 1,000 dollars, to let them continue their journey to the north of the country.
An INM source said that the foreigners were taken to the Tapachula station to receive humanitarian aid, and that the support of their consular representations in Mexico was requested to determine how to offer them some option for regularization, after they were victims of crimes.
On the other hand, the INM reported that its agents detected a private flight in Tapachula, Chiapas, that was attempting to transport foreigners in an irregular condition, originally from Jordan and Egypt, to Sonora.
He pointed out that in that air taxi
There were six adult men travelling, four of whom are from Egypt and two from Jordan.
During the review of travel documents, immigration agents identified six adult men from both countries who did not prove their regular stay in the country, so they were transferred to the Siglo XXI immigration station to carry out their administrative immigration procedure.
The operation, as well as the registration, model of the aircraft and details of the crew, were made known to the state prosecutor’s office.
The institute said that they are monitoring the protection and security of undocumented immigrants, reinforcing immigration control in areas of private flights.
