Mexican authorities intercepted 330 migrants, including 44 Nicaraguans, who were traveling irregularly in vans and private cars, along with 19 suspected human traffickers, reported this Saturday, April 23, the National Migration Institute (INM).
The INM, which depends on the Ministry of the Interior (Segob), considered the operation an “event that can be described as historic in at least the last three years” because such a massive rescue had not been recorded since then.
Among the migrants, according to the government institute, there were 108 Cubans, 73 Hondurans, 55 Salvadorans, 44 Nicaraguans, 36 Guatemalans and 14 Ecuadorians.
“All the people with irregular stay in the national territory traveled in 11 vans and two private cars” on the Puebla-Orizaba highway, in the center of the country, the agency deepened. The institute did not clarify the fate of the 330 intercepted migrants or their immigration status.
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The unit also reported the arrest of 19 people of Mexican nationality and the seizure of 13 vehicles for the probable crime of human trafficking, for which they were made available to the Attorney General’s Office (FGR).
Elements of the INM and the National Guard, as well as the state police, intervened in the operation.
The situation occurs about four days after a fatal accident in the Mexican state of Veracruz, where a truck with migrants fell from a bridge. Three Nicaraguans have been killed and several wounded, including three minors of Central American origin.
The fact is a reflection of the record migratory flow to the United States, whose Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office detected more than 1.7 million undocumented immigrants on the border with Mexico in fiscal year 2021, which ended on September 30. .
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Meanwhile, the Government of Mexico deported more than 114,000 foreigners in 2021, according to Segob data. The Army has deployed more than 28,000 of its members in migration tasks on the northern and southern borders.
According to humanitarian agencies, more than 100,000 Nicaraguans have opted for exile after the state repression unleashed against those who demonstrated in rejection of the administration of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, in April 2018.
