Mexico vows to investigate after soldiers kill six migrants on their way to the US

Mexican authorities have vowed to investigate a deadly incident in which their soldiers opened fire on a truck carrying U.S.-bound migrants near the country’s southern border with Guatemala, killing six people and wounding at least 10 others.

“It is a deplorable act that must be investigated and punished,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters during her morning press conference on Thursday.

The incident comes as illegal immigration has become a major issue in the US elections and Washington has pressured Mexico to push migrants south and away from the US-Mexico border.

Late Tuesday, the truck was carrying 33 migrants from several countries, including Egypt, Nepal, Cuba, India and Pakistan, according to a statement from the Mexican military. The six deaths came from Egypt, El Salvador and Peru, the president said.

Four died at the scene and two others succumbed at a hospital in the town of Huixtla, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Mexico’s border with Guatemala in the Mexican state of Chiapas, the military said.

The vast state of Chiapas, which shares a long border with Guatemala, is a major transit corridor for migrants from around the world heading to U.S. territory — but also a zone crossed by smugglers transporting weapons, cocaine and other illicit substances .

Chiapas is also embroiled in a brutal war between Mexico’s two main drug cartels, which has killed dozens of people and displaced thousands in recent months.

The army said soldiers were conducting “land reconnaissance” in the area when a pickup truck drove past at high speed, trying to avoid troops, and was followed by two trucks that appeared “similar to those used by criminal groups in that region.” ”

The troops heard “explosions,” the army said, and two soldiers opened fire and stopped a truck that, it turned out, was carrying the migrants. Based on images published in Mexican media, the truck appeared to be of the type used to transport livestock.

The two soldiers who opened fire were relieved of duty, the military said, and armed forces authorities and the attorney general’s office are investigating. The investigation will aim to determine whether the two soldiers are solely responsible or whether their commanders share the blame, Sheinbaum said.

The incident prompted denunciations from rights groups that have long condemned Mexican authorities for doing what they call “America’s dirty work” by detaining migrants traveling to the U.S. and often returning them to southern Mexico.

“These incidents are not isolated, nor are they accidents,” stated the Collective for the Monitoring of the Southern Border, an advocacy group. “These are consequences of the restrictive migration policy pursued by the Mexican government.”

The surviving migrants would be turned over to Mexican immigration authorities, the military said. It was unclear whether they would be deported or allowed to remain in Mexico.

Special correspondent Cecilia Sánchez Vidal contributed to this report.