Mexico: Soldiers Open Fire on Migrant Truck, Kill Six Near Guatemala

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • Mexico's Defense Department said in a statement on Wednesday that six migrants from Egypt, El Salvador, and Peru were killed, and 10 others wounded, when soldiers opened fire on a truck on Tuesday near the border with Guatemala.[1][2]
  • According to an official report, officers patrolling a highway in the southern state of Chiapas chased down a fleeing migrant convoy that was mistaken for cartel members, and started shooting after hearing explosions.[3][4]
  • Chiapas is a common and lucrative route for smuggling migrants and drugs through Mexico into the US, and one on which violence is escalating, as cartels — including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel — have engaged in a turf war.[5][6]
  • On Thursday, federal prosecutors announced that the two soldiers involved in the shooting had been arrested and put under investigation. They are subject to civilian prosecution and may also face courts-martial over the incident.[2][7]
  • The shooting took place just hours after Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in as Mexico's president, and a day after a constitutional reform placed the National Guard under the control of the Defense Department.[8][9]
  • Mexican forces are no stranger to using deadly force against migrants' trucks. In 2021, the National Guard shot one migrant dead, while the Tamaulipas state police killed 17 migrants and two Mexican citizens.[1][5]

Sources: [1]Newsweek, [2]Reuters, [3]New York Times, [4]Breitbart, [5]Al Jazeera, [6]CNN, [7]Associated Press, [8]Mexico News Daily and [9]Voz Media.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Wola. This kind of tragedy is a direct consequence of Mexico's decision to militarize migration enforcement in its southern border with Guatemala — and one that was waiting to happen given the country's record of human rights abuses. Crackdowns can only aggravate risks for already vulnerable people who are migrating to survive.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Aztec Reports. This is indeed a tragic incident — and Mexican authorities have already launched an investigation into the shooting. However, this isolated event doesn't mean that deploying soldiers to the southern border was a mistake. Violence has ramped up in the area as cartels expand their presence and vie for territorial control, and Mexico's authorities must act to curb criminal activity.

Predictions