Mexico’s National Migration Institute reported Thursday that 123 migrants were rescued in the central state of San Luis Potosi. The migrants were locked in the back of a trailer, screaming for help until a neighbor alerted authorities.
The agency said in a statement that 40 were from Guatemala, 35 from Nicaragua, 29 from Honduras, 14 from El Salvador, four from Ecuador and one from Cuba.
Among them were 89 adults and 34 children.
Agents arrived after the Attorney General’s Office received a citizen complaint about an abandoned trailer in the town of Matehuala where cries for help were heard, according to the police report.
“The rescue was carried out by the Attorney General’s Office, which provided medical assistance and food and later placed the migrants at the with the Migration Institute, which was able to determine their origin,” the institute said in a statement.
For the time being, the Migration Office in San Luis Potosi is providing shelter for the migrants while their administrative migratory situation is resolved.
Matehuala, a strategic point for traveling from the center to the north of the country, has been the scene of kidnappings and crimes against migrants.
In April, authorities reported the rescue of more than 100 migrants, while in May there were reports of about 50 kidnappings.
An “unprecedented” migratory flow through Mexico and Central America was recorded by the International Organization for Migration, which last week noted an annual increase of more than 60% in undocumented migration through Mexican territory so far this year.
by Mian Saeed Ahmed Khan
