News / Mexico

Amnesty urges Mexico to probe attacks on migrants

Friday, 19 June 2015 9:31 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 19 June 2015 12:25 PM ]

The AFP photo shows illegal Central American migrants arrested by police in Mexico City, on May 8, 2012.

Human rights group Amnesty International has called on Mexico to launch an investigation into a “shocking” rise in violence against migrants in the country.

Amnesty urged Mexican authorities on Thursday to look into two recent separate attacks carried out against more than 200 migrants, including children, which also resulted in a number of deaths.

"Mexico has become a death trap for migrants, with vicious criminal gangs at every corner waiting for their opportunity to attack them for a few dollars," Amnesty’s Americas director Erika Guevara-Rosas said.

Guevara-Rosas also accused the country’s authorities of being “more eager to deport people than to save lives.”

According to the rights group, the attacks took place near the US border in the northwestern state of Sonora and the eastern state of Veracruz.

The file photo shows two members of Amnesty International demanding respect for migrant human rights. (AFP photo)

On June 2, gunmen dressed in military uniform opened fire on 120 migrants from Central America, killing three people and kidnapping 15 others, who were later rescued and are currently expecting deportation.

Last week, armed men attacked and robbed about 100 migrants in Veracruz.

On Friday, Mexican police forces rescued 103 migrants, mainly from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. The migrants had been abducted and held at a location in central Mexico.

Mexico launched an operation to crack down on illegal entries into the country after a wave of unaccompanied children crossed the US borders last year.

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