The National Institute of Migration reported today, Saturday, that Mexican authorities discovered 129 migrants, mostly from Guatemala, packed into a truck in the state of Veracruz in eastern Mexico.
In a statement, it was noted that "the travelers found included adults from Guatemala, Honduras, India, El Salvador, and 19 unaccompanied minors." The institute added that "the children will be placed under state care, while the cases of others will be reviewed to determine their legal status in Mexico."
Four suspects involved in the human trafficking operation were arrested. The migrants were crammed into a trailer amid a heat wave in Mexico, where temperatures exceeded 45 degrees Celsius, higher than usual in several states, including Veracruz, where the migrants were found.
Earlier, immigration officials discovered 175 migrants, mostly from Central America, in late May in the state of Chiapas in southwestern Mexico. An additional 300 people were stopped at a checkpoint in Veracruz in March.
Migrants fleeing violence and poverty in Latin America often pay traffickers in an attempt to cross Mexico on their way to the United States, and some are forced to traverse areas plagued by drug violence, making them vulnerable to organized crime.
