Migrants in a makeshift camp in the northern Mexico state of Chihuahua set fire to mattresses and blankets early Saturday during a government raid to clear the site.
The raid, which involved 250 officials, including National Guard officers in anti-riot gear, sparked panic and confusion among the migrants.
The camp, located in the municipality of Chihuahua, about 360 kilometers from the border city of Ciudad Juárez, housed about 150 migrants, mainly Venezuelan families en route to the United States.
The midnight operation was aimed at relocating them to Mexico’s southern border for return to their home countries, a migration official who was not authorized to speak to reporters told Reuters.
According to reports, agents began gathering outside the camp at 9 p.m. Friday and another group arrived at 11 p.m. Migrants were alerted about an impending operation, but opted to stay since things appeared peaceful at that time.
But as flames and red smoke engulfed the site, many migrants began to flee with their belongings and children.
Daniel Barrios, a Venezuelan traveling with a woman carrying a baby on her back and another child, questioned the authorities’ tactics.
“Tell me, is it logical to come with this whole police and military force, supposedly to do an inspection at a camp, when they could do it during the day?” he said.
Barrios cut off his comments as he saw officials in the distance, saying, “We have to move.”
The blaze, controlled within an hour, caused no injuries or fatalities, according to officials. The number of migrants detained during the raid remains unclear, and Mexico’s National Migration Institute did not immediately comment.
The operation occurred about 60 hours before President Donald Trump’s inauguration, amid his criticism of Mexico’s efforts to curb migration. Trump has vowed stricter border policies and has threatened tariffs on Mexican goods if enforcement does not improve.
In the hours after the raid, one man from Nicaragua was walking around train tracks with companions who had decided to return to Torreón, Coahuila, then try to cross the border in another city.
Describing the raid, he said people put mattresses down near the entrance and fled out the back of the camp through a factory and toward the hills.
“First we put the mattresses down, and when they tried to force their way in, they were set on fire and we ran away,” he explained.
Chihuahua Gov. María Eugenia Campos had stated prior to the operation that “Chihuahua will not be a shelter for migrants” — a statement roundly criticized by a Morena official afterward.
“These positions not only contradict the values of solidarity and empathy that should guide our actions as a society, but also reflect a limited vision in the face of a phenomenon that demands shared responsibility and inter-institutional cooperation,” Brighite Granados, president of Morena’s state executive committee in Chihuahua, said in a press release.
The release also reminded that President Claudia Sheinbaum has made it clear that the country will help foreigners in the new era of Trump. “Mexico will guarantee support to migrants in case of deportations,” it noted.
With reports from Reuters, Animal Politico and N+
