Authorities found 229 migrants crammed into a trailer in Xalapa, Veracruz, on Monday, according to state Undersecretary José Manuel Pozos. The official stated that the migrants were from Central America and that the vehicle was traveling through Puente Nacional, a municipality located about 50 kilometers from Xalapa, the capital of Veracruz, when it was intercepted by state police. “Fortunately, everyone is safe…
They had to be hydrated, and they received the humane care that Governor [Rocío Nahle] instructed us to provide,” the undersecretary added.
Information gathered by the newspaper Reforma indicates that agents from the Ministry of Public Security stopped the trailer in Puente Nacional due to a suspected robbery, an incident that led to the driver’s arrest and the vehicle’s transfer to a depot in Xalapa. It was there that workers began hearing banging noises coming from inside the trailer. It was also the location where more than 200 people were found locked up. The aforementioned newspaper reports that 24 of the 229 migrants were minors (6 girls and 18 boys); the remaining 205 were adults (41 women and 164 men). The migrants came from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.
The discovery has already mobilized authorities from various agencies, and local media report that the migrants were transferred to the San José Police Station in the Veracruz state capital, where they will remain until the repatriation protocol is completed.
Source: elpais
