Mexico and the United States say they will take tough measures against migrant smugglers to stop the increase in illegal crossings across their shared border.
James Blears – Vatican City
Following US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Mexico City to hold a high-level meeting with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a joint decision was made to focus public order measures on migrant smugglers, often known as “coyotes.” not affiliated with the powerful, rich and violent drug cartels. At great cost of money and often even greater loss of life, thousands of undocumented migrants are transported on trains or hidden in unventilated trailers of trucks, often with tragic consequences. U.S. officials praise current Mexican control efforts, saying they have significantly reduced crossings in recent days. In fact, this decline is more related to the holiday season.
Mexican President López Obrador reiterates that important key agreements have already been reached, without providing further details for the time being. US authorities confirm that the number of apprehensions of undocumented migrants at the border exceeded two million people between 2022 and 2023. Many more have already reached U.S. soil, while thousands languish in makeshift camps on the Mexican side.
A political puzzle
The issue has become a hot topic in the political thicket in Washington as the Republican-controlled Congress refuses to provide money for war-torn Ukraine without making firm commitments that lead to legislation strengthening border control.
The current thorn in the side of both sides and on both sides is an ongoing refugee caravan, made up mostly of Venezuelans, Haitians and Hondurans, moving through Mexico toward the U.S. border. In recent years, Mexican troops, police and immigration officials have stopped caravans, sparking desperate clashes. Migrants were sent on flights home. But many come back to try again.
Texas is creating a tough new law that would send so-called repeat offenders to prison.
It has not been announced what measures are being taken to prevent thousands of Central American migrants from disappearing while transiting through Mexico every year. Many of those unable to meet the criminals' financial demands are killed and their bodies buried in secret cemeteries across the vast, desolate wastelands.