Mexican army troops open fire on a truck, six migrants are reported dead

Six migrants were killed after Mexican soldiers opened fire on a truck carrying a group near the border with Guatemala, Mexico’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

In a statement, the department said soldiers claimed to have heard gunfire as the truck and two other vehicles approached their position late Tuesday night in Chiapas, near the town of Huixtla.

Two soldiers shot at the truck, which contained migrants from Egypt, Nepal, Cuba, India, Pakistan and at least one other country. Upon inspection, soldiers found that four migrants were dead and twelve others were injured. Two injured people later succumbed to their injuries. The condition of the remaining 10 was not immediately available.

Prosecutors confirmed that all victims died of gunshot wounds. However, the Defense Ministry did not specify whether the migrants were killed by army fire or whether weapons were found in the truck. There were 17 other migrants in the vehicle, who were unharmed. The truck was carrying a total of 33 migrants. The area is a known route for human smugglers, who often pack migrants into overcrowded trucks.

The Defense Department announced that the two soldiers responsible for the shooting have been relieved of duty pending an investigation. In Mexico, incidents involving civilians are subject to civil prosecution, but soldiers can also face military court-martial for such crimes.

This incident is not unprecedented. In previous incidents, Mexican troops have opened fire on vehicles carrying migrants in the border area, which is often the scene of battles between rival drug cartels. In 2021, the National Guard shot at a pickup truck carrying migrants, killing one and wounding four.

Irineo Mujica, a migrant rights activist who regularly accompanies caravans in Chiapas, expressed skepticism that the migrants or their smugglers had fired shots at the military. “It is really impossible that these people would have shot at the military,” Mujica said. “They usually get through by paying bribes.”

The UN agency for refugees in Mexico, known as ACNUR, expressed concern about the events in Chiapas, stressing that “people who migrate are exposed to great risks during their journey.” They emphasized the need for legal access, travel and integration to prevent tragedies like these.

If the deaths are confirmed to be the result of army fire, it could be a significant embarrassment for President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office on Tuesday. Sheinbaum has followed in the footsteps of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and granted the armed forces sweeping powers in law enforcement, state-owned enterprises, airports, trains and construction projects.

This article contains reporting from The Associated Press