Mexico’s president promises justice after army kills six migrants

Published on: 03/10/2024 – 18:11Altered: 03/10/2024 – 18:09

2 minutes

The killings late Tuesday during a highway chase in the southern state of Chiapas “must be investigated and punished,” Sheinbaum said, adding that the victims were from Egypt, El Salvador and Peru.

The public prosecutor’s office would investigate the incident and whether commanders were also responsible, she told a news conference.

“A situation like this cannot be repeated,” she added.

Peru called for “an urgent investigation” into what it called a “reprehensible act.”

In recent years, Mexico has given a greater public security role to its military, which human rights group Amnesty International accused in April of using “unnecessary and excessive force.”

The United Nations human rights office expressed concern earlier this week about “the growing role the military has played in public security and other law enforcement functions.”

Migrants “are exposed to great risks during their journey and it is therefore essential to have legal routes for entry, transit and integration to prevent tragedies like these,” it said on Wednesday in response to the six deaths.

The shooting took place on the same day Sheinbaum was sworn in as president, promising to respect human rights and avoid repression by security forces.

High speed chase

According to a police report, soldiers chased a truck after it failed to stop at an army checkpoint, firing gunshots in an attempt to stop it.

The Defense Ministry said the two soldiers who opened fire have been relieved of their duties pending an investigation.

It said a military patrol spotted a vehicle – followed by two flatbed trucks, similar to those often used by criminals – traveling at high speed and apparently trying to flee.

“Military personnel reported hearing gunshots, so two soldiers activated their weapons and stopped one of the flatbed trucks,” the statement said.

The patrol found 33 migrants from countries that also included Nepal, Cuba, India and Pakistan.

Four of the migrants died on the spot, while two of the 12 injured lost their lives in hospital, the report said.

Chiapas, home to lush jungle, indigenous communities and ancient Mayan ruins, has seen increasingly intense wars between two powerful cartels involved in drug and human trafficking.

Thousands of migrants from many countries travel through Mexico every year in buses, crowded human smugglers’ caravans and freight trains in an attempt to reach the U.S.-Mexico border.

They run the risk of fatal accidents, kidnappings by criminal groups and extortion by corrupt officials.

In December 2021, 56 migrants, most of whom were from Central America, were killed and dozens injured when a truck carrying about 160 people overturned in Chiapas.

More than 9,800 migrants have died or disappeared in America since 2014, most of whom tried to reach the United States through Mexico, according to the International Organization for Migration.

© 2024 AFP