The Mexican President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obradorblamed a migrant protest Tuesday for the fire that killed 39 of them at a station of the National Institute of Migration (INM) on the border with the United States.
This had to do with a protest that they started, from, we suppose, that they found out that they were going to be deported, mobilized, and as a protest, they put mattresses at the door of the shelter and set them on fire, and they did not imagine that this was going to happen. to cause this terrible misfortune”, he declared in his morning conference.
The president stated that the incident occurred at 9:30 p.m. in Ciudad Juárez, on the border with the US city of El Paso, Texas, with an official balance of 40 deathsmost of them from Central America and Venezuela.
What we know so far is that migrants were mainly from Central America and some from Venezuela who were in that shelter. We still do not know exactly the names and nationality of those who unfortunately lost their lives. It is very sad that this could happen, ”he remarked.
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In the area of the incident, near the Rio Grande that divides Mexico and the United States, EFE found dozens of bags containing the bodies of the migrants who perished in the fire.
Witnesses told local media that the fire started in the area where the migrant men were being held and some of them were trapped.
The director of Migration (Francisco Garduño, from the INM) is there, of course all the authorities that have to do with these events and, of course, the Attorney General of the Republic to proceed legally, ”López Obrador warned.
Migration crisis worsens
Before the incident, INM agents had carried out an operation to remove migrants begging from the streets.
The presence of migrants in the area has intensified this year since the United States announced new measures, including the immediate deportation of migrants from Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba who arrive by land under Title 42.
The Mexican government has also faced criticism from human rights organizations for accepting US policies and deploying more than 20,000 elements of the Armed Forces at the borders for immigration tasks.
According to Mexican civil organizations, 2022 was the most tragic year for migrants in Mexico, because some 900 died in the attempt to cross without documents from the country to the United States.
The region is experiencing a record migratory flow, with 2.76 million undocumented immigrants detained at the United States border with Mexico in fiscal year 2022.
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EFE International news agency based in Madrid and present in more than 110 countries.