2024-04-02 05:33:00
A volunteer veterinarian holds a Chinese passport found at the U.S.-Mexico border/Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images/File
2024.04.02 Tue posted at 14:33 JST
(CNN) A boat carrying Chinese nationals attempting to illegally enter the United States capsized off the coast of the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, and the bodies of eight Chinese nationals were found washed ashore.
The bodies of seven women and one man were discovered on March 29 on the beach in San Francisco del Mar, Oaxaca state, the local prosecutor’s office said.
Chinese nationals heading to the United States sometimes take the dangerous route of sailing off the coast of Mexico to avoid the highly monitored land crossings.
According to Oaxaca prosecutors, the boat operated by a Mexican man left Tapachula in Chiapas state, near neighboring Guatemala, on the 28th. One Chinese man is said to have survived. It is unclear what happened to the man operating the boat.
The subversion is being investigated in cooperation with federal law enforcement authorities, and the identity of the suspect is being confirmed with the cooperation of the Chinese embassy in Mexico.
The number of Chinese nationals illegally entering the United States via Mexico has increased dramatically in recent years. According to U.S. government statistics, more than 37,000 Chinese nationals entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2023 and were caught by law enforcement. For the previous 10 years, the average number of visitors per year was around 1,500.
Why choose a dangerous maritime route?
Iris Wang, 35, a Chinese woman who arrived in the United States by sea in 2022, told CNN that her ship nearly sank following leaving Tapachula in the middle of the night.
Without being fully aware of the dangers of the voyage, he chose to take the boat to Oaxaca because he feared that if he took the bus he would be detected by the police on the way.
“Those few hours were a nightmare I’ll never forget. It was so scary,” Wang said.
More than 30 people were crammed into the boat, which was regarding the size of two sedans, with their legs crossed and unable to move.
Shortly following leaving port, the ship encountered a heavy rainstorm in the dark.
“Everyone was shaking with fear. The waves were extremely high, and we were thrown into the air over and over once more, entangled with everyone, and slammed into the bottom of the boat. If it had been a little higher, we would have been thrown overboard,” Wang said. recalls. “I kept shaking and crying, saying to myself, “I don’t want to die like this.”
Wang said he felt incredibly lucky to have survived, adding: “I never want to see the sea at night once more.”
The dramatic increase in illegal immigration reflects the reality that more and more Chinese people are feeling the urge to flee their homeland. Many of the evacuees complain that life in China has become difficult.
During the three-year coronavirus pandemic, job losses increased across China due to city lockdowns and movement restrictions, and the Chinese Communist Party’s strict control over all aspects of life has tightened under President Xi Jinping. Disillusionment with the situation was widespread.
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