Mexico "invests" 150 million dollars in social programs in countries where there is more migration: AMLO

MEXICO CITY.- The president Andrés Manuel López Obrador He assured that his government allocates 3.5 billion dollars to address the migration phenomenon, which he maintained is more than what the United States contributes.

During the ‘morning’ conference, the president criticized that EU devote more resources to war instead of supporting poor people in Latin America and of Caribbean.

“We help solve the problem as much as we can. […] we are investing 150 million dollars for social programs in countries where there is more migration”, AMLO announced today.

“For us it means an investment, which I don’t spend. Of 3.5 billion dollars address the migratory phenomenon,” he said.

Migrants are victims of violence

In today’s ‘morning’, the journalist Valeria León of Telemundo He asked AMLO about “his guilt” in crimes against migrants in the country.

The reporter questioned that in six years 2 million migrants have crossed MexicoHowever, they have only issued 35 convictions for human trafficking and questioned how the Mexican government acts to put an end to extortionists and traffickers.

AMLO recognized that the migrants are victims of crime in Mexicoeven admitted that they suffer extortion and kidnapping because there are networks of transporters that take them to the border in trucks and there are accidents, as activists have reported.

“If there are no migrants, then criminals would no longer be able to do harm here, the problem is that there are thousands who arrive from all countries out of necessity,” he said about the crisis in countries like Cuba o Haiti.

These statements come a day after 87 kidnapped migrants were rescued in City Juarez Chihuahua.

He also acknowledged the immigration crisis, but maintained that it occurred last December.

“We had a crisis in December, this is on the northern border, there were 12,000 migrants,” he said, adding that there was “a 50% reduction so far” to that number.

He also denied that in 2019 he had tightened immigration policies due to pressure from the former president of the United States, Donald Trump.

“I don’t let myself be pressured by anyone. Mexico is an independent country. The president of Mexico acts freely. He is not a pushover for any foreign government. “That has already happened,” he said.

President López Obrador stressed that “we have to be very attentive because this is an issue on the political agenda in the presidential campaign, from there I am only listening.”

INM helps 407 migrants abandoned in Veracruz

Last Tuesday, the Migration’s national institute (INM) announced that 407 migrants abandoned in three buses in Veracruz.

The identified people come from seven countries in the Caribbean, center y South America; 91 were traveling in family groups (30 women, 15 men and 46 children under 18 years of age) and 52 girls, boys and adolescents were found without the company of an adult.

Of the 264 adults traveling alone, 12 are from Cuba; 4, Dominican Republic; 27, Ecuador; 187, Guatemala; 7, Honduras; 21, The Savior y 6, Nicaragua. Said group was transferred to the Acayucan immigration station.

Meanwhile, the family units, as well as the unaccompanied minors under 18 years of age, were transferred to the System shelter for the Integral development of the family (DIF) municipal “Grow, Trust and Wait”.

The humanitarian rescue process was carried out in strict accordance with respect for the human rights of foreigners, the statement says.

READ ALSO: Traffickers “take advantage” of the migration crisis