Six migrants die after Mexico soldiers open fire
Six migrants lost their lives after soldiers in Mexico fired upon a vehicle transporting a group of 33 individuals traveling in the southern part of the country.
The Mexican defense ministry reported that another 10 migrants sustained injuries in the incident that occurred on Tuesday evening, approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of the Guatemala border.
According to the ministry, a military patrol observed the migrants’ pick-up truck speeding and attempting to evade a stop. Following the sound of explosions, two officers discharged their weapons, and they have since been relieved of their duties pending an investigation.
Mexico is facing pressure from the U.S. to take action against the increasing number of migrants passing through the country en route to the American border.
A police report into the incident in the southern Chiapas state said the soldiers chased the vehicle after it failed to stop at an army checkpoint before firing gunshots to try and stop it, Reuters news agency reported.
The driver turned off down a dirt road in an attempt to escape, it added, but lost control of the vehicle.
According to the defence ministry’s statement, the migrants came from Egypt, Nepal, Cuba, India and Pakistan. It did not give the nationalities of those who died.
Four died at the scene while two of the 12 people who were wounded died in hospital. The remaining 17 passengers were handed over to immigration authorities.
Officials said federal prosecutors had been informed and a military tribunal would also investigate.
The defence ministry said it was committed to “act in strict accordance with the rule of law, under a policy of zero-impunity, and ready to help the civil authorities to shed light on the facts”.
Thousands of migrants travel through Mexico each year in buses, overcrowded lorries and on freight trains as they try to get to the US-Mexican border.
They run the risk of fatal accidents, kidnapping by criminal groups and extortion by corrupt officials.
In December 2021, a people smugglers’ lorry overturned in Chiapas killing 56 mostly Central American migrants.
