2023-07-21 23:58:00
(CNN) — Dozens of Central American migrants, including 23 unaccompanied children, were found this Friday in an abandoned truck on the side of a highway in sweltering temperatures in the southeastern state of Veracruz, according to the National Institute of Migration (INM) of Mexico.
“The INM rescued 148 migrants who were traveling overcrowded in the back of a trailer and were abandoned -in life-threatening conditions- on the side of the Minatitlán-Córdoba highway,” the institute reported in a statement.
The truck was abandoned by the driver, who is still a fugitive, the INM added.
The migrants came from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, the INM wrote. Among the 148 people found were women and men traveling alone, 23 unaccompanied minors and 44 families.
“Humanitarian care was provided to vulnerable groups and their health status was verified. Once the procedure was completed, the adults were taken to the INM facilities to carry out the corresponding immigration procedures, ”he added.
Unaccompanied minors and family units will remain protected by the System for the Comprehensive Development of the Family (DIF) and the Office for the Defense of Minors during their migration process, the statement read.
The truck was abandoned by its driver. The faces of the rescued migrants were obscured by the INM in this image. Courtesy: National Institute of Migration
Immigrants fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries frequently travel through the state of Veracruz on their way to the United States.
Without documents, they travel in trailers or on top of the freight train nicknamed The Beast. Many migrants have been killed or seriously injured trying to complete the journey.
Many others have been found traveling in trucks and trailers. According to official reports, in 2021 Mexican authorities found 600 people hiding in two trailers. That same year, at least 55 people were killed and more than 100 injured when a truck overturned in southern Mexico.
Migration to the United States is very common from Central American countries, where extreme weather, violence, corruption, and a lack of economic opportunity have left many with no other option.
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