Mexico agents locate 269 migrants in a trailer at the southern border

MEXICO CITY (Reuters – Mexican authorities discovered 269 migrants from Central America and South America crowded in a tractor trailer at the country’s southern border. The National Institute of Migration of Mexico reported Tuesday.

The institute stated that federal agents found the trailer at the immigration verification point in Tuxtla Gutierrez in the state of Chiapas. After trying to flee, the driver was taken into custody by police.

Many migrants travel through Tuxtla to escape poverty and violence in Latin America. It has witnessed many tragic accidents including the deaths of over 50 Central American migrants last year, when a trailer was flipped while turning a sharp corner.

The statement said that nearly all the 269 migrants found by authorities were from Guatemala. However, there were three from El Salvador and three from Ecuador, as well as two from Honduras. It also said that 20 of these travelers were unaccompanied minors.

To determine their status, the migrants were taken to the offices of the immigration institute.

(Reporting and Writing by Diego Ore; Editing by Edmund Klamann; Writing by Valentine Hilaire)