“Dominicans found among 87 migrants in tractor trailer in Chiapas” | Daily menu

Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) revealed on Wednesday that 87 migrants from Latin America and Asia were discovered in the back of a tractor trailer traveling on the Tapachula-Huitan Highway, in the southern state of Chiapas, on the border with Guatemala.

The agency stated in a statement that it had identified, in coordination with federal and state security authorities, 46 adults who were traveling alone and 41 “women, men, and minors who constitute 14 family units.”

Authorities intercepted the truck on Tuesday evening at a checkpoint on the highway between Tapachula and Huehitan, according to the National Immigration Movement, and the driver and his companion “fled from the scene.”

The organization explains that people have been identified from nine different countries: the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Honduras, Ecuador, El Salvador, Bangladesh, Uruguay, Guatemala and China.

He said the foreigners “were unable to prove their regular residence” in Mexico.

He also confirmed that they were wearing a “colored plastic bracelet to identify them.”

“With full respect for their rights and guarantees, the adults were transferred to the facilities of the National Indian Institute for the initiation of appropriate administrative procedures,” the statement read.

He confirmed that the families were “taken to the entity’s shelter” under the guardianship of the Comprehensive Family Development System.

The transport of migrants in overcrowded conditions reflects an “unprecedented” migration flow from Mexico and Central America, as the International Organization for Migration had previously warned, which reported in early November an annual increase of more than 60%. Migration crossing Mexican territory in 2023.