Translated by Jesús Ronquillo / Circuito Frontera
In the last seven years, at least 1,007 crimes against migrants have been registered in the state of Chihuahua, according to information located in the National Transparency Platform (PNT).
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The information dates from January 1, 2017 to January 8, 2024, as well as of the total, it is worth highlighting that 96.4 percent were registered in Ciudad Juarez, which corresponds to 971 facts.
The data also showed that different crimes were documented, including robbery, aggravated robbery, abuse of authority and illegal use of public force, injuries, threats, dispossession, human trafficking and deprivation of liberty.
Also, disappearance of persons, domestic violence, extortion, sexual abuse, homicide, damages, harassment, rape and kidnapping.
The main nationalities of the victims were from Guatemala, Colombia, Honduras, Venezuela, El Salvador, Ecuador and Brazil.
In the last few weeks there have been several incidents against migrants. One of these occurred on April 11, when a man was found wrapped in a blanket in the area of the boardwalk. At the time of attention, he was alive and was taken to receive medical attention.
However, a similar situation occurred last Friday in the same area of the board, at gate 36, where a migrant man, who had several injuries and despite medical assistance was requested, lost his life there.
Likewise, there have been several incidents in which migrants have been rescued by authorities of the three levels of government, after they were found crammed in houses or in trailer boxes.
For example, last Tuesday, April 30, 104 migrants were rescued after being crammed into a house.
Four days later, on May 3, a group of 39 migrants were rescued from a house in the Riveras del Bravo neighborhood by members of the Chihuahua State Public Security Secretariat.
Last Friday, the Secretary of State Public Security, Gilberto Loya Chavez, announced that more than 1,700 migrants have been freed from kidnapping and extortion situations perpetrated by criminal groups in the region.
The official emphasized the increased economic power of local criminal cartels, fueled by the large sums of money obtained through extortion and ransom of migrants
Also, in many cases, Mexican authorities have not been aware of these situations until they have received information from liaisons with authorities in other countries such as the United States, Brazil and Colombia.
This lack of coordination and knowledge of the situation has made it extremely difficult to provide adequate protection and attention to migrants at risk.
The head of the Municipal Public Security Secretariat, Cesar Omar Muñoz Morales, announced that 60 percent of the homicides registered in Ciudad Juarez were related to human trafficking.
He pointed out that the main focus of this crime is in el valle and south of Ciudad Juarez, as well as the authorities maintain a permanent presence in the area of the International Airport “Abraham Gonzalez” to reduce the violent episodes that occur there.
