Migrants were shot by the Mexican Army while driving on a highway

Six migrants were shot dead during the night of October 1, 2024 by Mexican soldiers, that they had been mistaken for alleged criminals on a highway in the state of Chiapas, in the south of the country, reported the Ministry of Defense (Sedena).

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Four of the migrants died at the scene of the incident, while Two others died while being treated at a local hospital.reported the Sedena.

The event occurred on the same day that Claudia Sheinbaum took office as the first president in the history of Mexico and stated in a speech before thousands of supporters that It is “false” that there is militarization of the country and that “there are no violations of human rights.”

The spokesperson for the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN-DH) told the new president that they are “concerned about the increasingly important role the military has taken on in public safety and other law enforcement functions“.

The group of 33 migrants was traveling in a convoy of three vans. There were citizens “of Egyptian, Nepalese, Cuban, Hindu, Pakistani nationality“added the Sedena without specifying the origin of the deceased.

The Peruvian Foreign Ministry later reported that a citizen of that country is also among the victims, according to information provided by his Mexican counterpart, and “strongly” condemned the incident.

In a statement released in X, he added that he will demand that the Mexican authorities “an urgent investigation to clarify and determine the responsibilities of the reprehensible act“.

The UN-DH office in Mexico also expressed “concern” about crime and stressed the “great risks” that migrants face.

Soldiers were reported to the prosecutor’s office

The events occurred around 8:50 pm on a highway located about 80 kilometers from the Mexico-Guatemala border, where the military was carrying out ground reconnaissance work.

One of the trucks “he was going at high speed” and “when he saw the military personnel he evaded”, while the other two were “like those used by criminal groups in that region”, the secretariat explained in the statement.

“Military personnel reported hearing detonations, so two elements activated their weapons” causing the vehicles to stop moving, he added.

Reports from local police indicate that the military chased the convoy for several kilometers and that one of the vehicles left the road trying to outwit the soldiers without success.

La Sedena reported that other 10 migrants were injured, while the remaining 17 were unharmed and were handed over to the National Migration Institute.

He added that the two soldiers who fired “were separated from their duties” and because it was an incident where civilians were affected, they were reported to the Mexican attorney general’s office.

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