Tuesday, April 22, 2025

National Guard troops shoot, kill migrant, wound 4 others

The National Guard shot at a vehicle transporting migrants near Pijijiapan, Chiapas, on Sunday, killing one and wounding four others. The security force confirmed its involvement in the incident on Monday. 

Officers opened fire on the pickup truck carrying migrants when it tried to avoid an immigration checkpoint and ram a patrol vehicle, the Associated Press reported. 

The National Guard said in a statement that the truck ignored orders to stop for an inspection and accelerated towards a patrol vehicle, which “put [the officers’ safety] at imminent risk.” 

The state Attorney General’s Office said that the dead man was a Cuban citizen. It also said that authorities found a rifle in the truck.

The National Guard said the pickup was carrying 13 migrants, mostly from Cuba. The migrants and the driver were detained, while the wounded were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. 

It is not clear if the migrants had traveled with the 2,500-strong migrant caravan that left Tapachula, Chiapas, on October 23, which was located 48 kilometers south of the incident in Mapastepec, Chiapas, on Sunday, and arrived in Pijijiapan only on Tuesday afternoon. 

Migrants heading north, generally to the U.S. border, often contract the services of migrant smugglers known as coyotes, a method that can be dangerous and expensive. However, it is not known if smugglers were involved in this case.

Chiapas is bearing the brunt of a migration crisis in Mexico. In Tapachula, a city of about 350,000 inhabitants, there are at least 63,000 stranded migrants waiting for refuge, according to figures from the federal refugee agency COMAR. 

In 2019, at least 70,400 people sought refuge in Mexico; this year, more than 120,000 are expected, the newspaper El País reported. Seventy percent of the country’s asylum applications are made in Tapachula, which neighbors the Guatemalan border.

With reports from El País and AP 

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Kristi Noem in an anti-immigration ad from the U.S. government

Sheinbaum moves to ban foreign government propaganda after US anti-immigration ad airs on Mexican TV

19
A hostile video message narrated by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is widely seen as discriminatory, and according to the president, in violation of the Mexican Constitution.
Heat wave this week in Mexico

Cold front and heat wave collide, bringing high winds and hot temps

0
Northern states will get hit with chilly winds of up to 30 km/hr this week, while Mexico's central and southern states should prepare to feel the heat.
The Pope's 2016 visit to Mexico

Mexico mourns death of Pope Francis, Latin America’s first pontiff

6
In his 2016 papal visit, the Pope celebrated Mexico's abundant resources, biodiversity and mixed heritage that "give it an identity ... and cultural richness that are not always easy to find."