Tragedy struck near the Mexico-Guatemala border as six international migrants lost their lives when Mexican soldiers opened fire on a truck carrying a group of migrants. The incident occurred in the southern state of Chiapas, near the town of Huixtla, late Tuesday night.
The soldiers claimed they heard shots as the truck and two other vehicles approached their position. Upon opening fire on the truck, which was transporting migrants from Egypt, Nepal, Cuba, India, Pakistan, and other countries, four migrants were found dead, and 12 others were wounded. Sadly, two of the wounded migrants later succumbed to their injuries.
Local prosecutors confirmed that all victims died from gunshot wounds. The Defense Department did not disclose whether the migrants were killed by army fire or if any weapons were discovered in the truck. Of the 33 migrants in the vehicle, 17 were unharmed, while the condition of the remaining 10 wounded individuals remains unknown.
Following the tragic incident, the two soldiers who fired the shots have been relieved of duty pending investigations. In Mexico, any civilian-involved incident is subject to civilian prosecution, with soldiers also facing potential military courts martial for such offenses.
This is not the first instance of Mexican forces firing on vehicles carrying migrants in the region, which is known for being a common route for migrant smuggling and plagued by turf battles between drug cartels. In a similar incident in 2021, the National Guard opened fire on a pickup truck carrying migrants, resulting in one death and four injuries.
Migrant rights activist Irineo Mujica expressed skepticism that the migrants or their smugglers would have initiated the gunfire, suggesting that bribery is a more common means of passage. The U.N. refugee agency in Mexico, ACNUR, voiced concern over the events in Chiapas, emphasizing the risks migrants face during their journeys and the importance of legal pathways for migration to prevent such tragedies.
If the army's gunfire is confirmed as the cause of the deaths, it could pose a significant challenge for newly inaugurated President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has granted the armed forces extensive powers in various sectors, following the policies of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
