2023-05-09 14:44:49
George Álvarez, a man with a criminal record, was charged Monday with manslaughter, following ramming his truck into a crowd in the city of Brownsville, Texas, border with Mexico, killing eight people, including several Venezuelan migrants.
(Also read: Colombian died in a hit-and-run in Texas: here is his hard journey to go to the US)
Álvarez, 34, ran a red light and lost control of his car on Sunday, running over a group of people who were waiting at a bus stop in front of a migrant reception center, explained the head of the Department of Brownsville police, Felix Sauceda.
The incident left at least eight people dead, all of them men, the officer said, and 10 injured, some in critical condition. Gabriel Gallardo is one of the 10 injured migrants. From a hospital bed, the Venezuelan spoke exclusively with Noticias Telemundo.
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(Also read: What is known regarding the driver in Texas who hit and killed eight migrants)
He said that he emigrated from Venezuela to give his children a better future and who had just been released from a temporary detention center when he was run over and lost one of his legs.
“I came to look for a better future for my children and now it turns out that I have no legs. My dreams have been broken, gone,” she lamented.
From Venezuela, his wife along with their two children asked President Joe Biden for help so they can travel to the United States and be together with Gallardo.
I came to look for a better future for my children and now it turns out that I have no legs. My dreams have been broken, gone
Police chief Sauceda indicated that authorities were still awaiting a toxicology report on Álvarez, and were not ruling out any motive for the incident. “George Álvarez is a Brownsville resident with an extensive rap sheet,” he said as he displayed the list of the detainee’s previous charges that include assault, robbery and driving under the influence.
Several of the deceased were migrants and they are working with Border Patrol officials to verify their entry into the United States. After the crash, the motorist tried to flee but was held by people at the scene until police arrived, according to Sauceda.
In addition to the eight counts of manslaughter, Alvarez was charged with 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon: his vehicle.
(You may be interested in: USA: What is Title 8, the expulsion rule that replaces Title 42?)
migration crisis
The incident took place as the United States government prepares for the lifting of a sanitary measure known as Title 42, that the covid-19 pandemic has allowed Border Patrol agents to deport or reject migrants without even accepting their asylum applications.
The expiration of this rule this Thursday makes authorities fear an increase in the number of migrants entering the southern United States illegally.
The government of President Nicolás Maduro asked to “investigate the facts in depth and clarify their causes, in order to rule out any intention related to hate and xenophobia practices”.
On his side, the Bishop of Brownsville, Daniel Flores, said in a statement that the deceased were “immigrant men from Venezuela” and urged to “resist the corrosive trend of devaluing the lives of immigrants, the poor and the vulnerable.”
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