MIAMI, United States. – Six migrants were shot dead this Tuesday night by Mexican soldiers who had mistaken them for alleged criminals on a highway in the state of Chiapas, in the south of the country, according to reported the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) of Mexico.
The authorities did not specify the identity of the victims. However, they indicated that there were Cubans in the group of 33 migrants.
The incident took place on the Villa Comaltitlán-Huixtla highway section, in the state of Chiapasand involved elements of the Mexican Army. The migrants traveled in redila-type vans, similar to those used by criminal groups in the region, according to SEDENA.
According to that entity, the incident occurred around 8:50 p.m. when military personnel, while carrying out ground reconnaissance, detected a vehicle type pick up that was moving at high speed. Upon noticing the military presence, the vehicle tried to evade the authorities.
After hearing explosions, two of the soldiers fired their weapons and managed to stop one of the trucks.
Upon approaching, the military personnel found 33 migrants of different nationalities, including Cubans, Egyptians, Nepalese, Hindus, Pakistanis and Arabs. Four of them had died at the scene, while 12 others were injured. Two more died at the Huixtla General Hospital due to the severity of their injuries.
SEDENA confirmed that the 17 migrants who were unharmed were placed in the custody of the National Migration Institute (INM). The institution also reported that the two soldiers involved in the shooting were separated from their duties and the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic was notified to carry out the corresponding investigations.
According to its statement, the institution established communication with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate with the embassies of the countries of origin of the affected migrants.
The activist group Colectivo de Monitoring Frontera Sur assured in your own statement that “four adult men, a girl and a young woman” had died from the gunshots.
Likewise, he denounced that “Mexican immigration policies generate a context of violence, precariousness and risk for thousands of people, causing serious human rights violations. They force them to take risky, clandestine and increasingly expensive routes, falling into trafficking and smuggling networks.”
The organization also recalled that a year ago, on October 1, 2023, an accident was recorded in Pijijiapan, also in the state of Chiapas, for which 10 Cuban migrants died which were transported in a truck.
