Six people died after Mexican soldiers shot at a group of 33 migrants traveling in a pickup truck trying to evade a military patrol, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday, underlining tensions on Mexico’s southern border as it faces US pressure to contain migration.
Another 10 migrants were injured in the incident on Tuesday night (1st), the ministry said in a statement. The group included people of Egyptian, Nepali, Cuban, Indian and Pakistani nationality, although the statement did not specify the nationalities of the deceased.
The ministry said the incident occurred shortly before 9 p.m. while the patrol was traveling along a highway near the town of Huixtla, about 40 km from Tapachula on the border with Guatemala.
The pickup truck was followed by two vehicles similar to those used by criminal groups in the area, it said, and soldiers reported hearing explosions, after which two police officers opened fire.
Four migrants were killed at the scene, while two others later died in hospital.
The deaths cast a new spotlight on Mexico’s policy toward migrants, as well as the military’s growing role in the country’s security.
Mexico’s Defense Ministry said the two soldiers who shot at the migrants had been removed from their posts and that federal prosecutors had been informed. A military court will also carry out its own investigation.
Mexico has been under pressure from the United States to reduce the number of migrants arriving at their common border, where a record number of people have tried to cross in recent years, fleeing economic hardship and violence.
This content was originally published in Six migrants die after Mexican soldiers shoot at truck on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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