How Mexican cartels manage the flow of migrants on their way to the US border

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CIUDAD HIDALGO, Mexico (AP) — The first spot wherever galore migrants slumber aft entering Mexico from Guatemala is wrong a ample structure, a tile supra and fenced-in sides connected a agrarian ranch. They telephone it nan “chicken coop” and they don’t get to time off until they salary nan cartel that runs it.

Migrant encounters astatine nan U.S.-Mexico separator have reached a four-year low, but days earlier nan U.S. election, successful which migration is simply a cardinal issue, migrants proceed pouring into Mexico.

While U.S. authorities springiness overmuch of nan in installments to their Mexican counterparts for stemming nan travel to their shared border, organized crime maintains stricter power of who moves present than nan fistful of national agents and National Guardsmen opinionated by nan river.

Kidnapped migrants who salary nan $100 ransom for their merchandise are stamped to awesome that they person paid. From January to August, conscionable successful this southernmost area of Mexico, much than 150,000 migrants were intercepted by migration agents, considered a fraction of nan flow.

Six migrant families interviewed by The Associated Press, who had passed done an first abduction and were held until paying, explained really it works. A Mexican national charismatic corroborated overmuch of it. They each requested anonymity for fearfulness of reprisals.

Mexican migration agents encountered 925,000 undocumented migrants done August of this year, good supra past year’s yearly full and triple nan 2021 total. Yet, they’ve only deported 16,500, a fraction of erstwhile years.

Rev. Heyman Vázquez, a leader successful Ciudad Hidalgo on nan Suchiate stream that divides Mexico and Guatemala, sees it daily.

“It’s them (the cartel) that says who passes and who doesn’t,” Vázquez said. “The numbers of migrants that they return each time are large and they do it successful beforehand of nan authorities.”

Pay to proceed north

On Monday morning, Luis Alonso Valle, a 43-year-old Honduran walking pinch his woman and 2 children, climbed disconnected a raft lashed together pinch motortruck soul tubes and boards that had carried them crossed nan Suchiate to Mexico.

They hadn’t made it 50 yards toward Ciudad Hidalgo earlier 3 men approached connected a motorcycle to show them they couldn’t support walking. Then seeing journalists they left. The family looked scared.

In Ciudad Hidalgo’s cardinal plaza, Valle asked for a van that could return them nan 23 miles (37 kilometers) to Tapachula, considered nan main introduction constituent for confederate Mexico. Climbing aboard, nan driver asked successful a susurration that journalists extremity recording. “They (organized crime) are going to extremity me,” he said.

This is often really migrants get astatine nan ranch. Taxi aliases van drivers moving for nan cartel return them location and manus them over. They’re forced to slumber connected nan ground.

“There were much than 500 group there, immoderate had been location 10, 15 days,” said a Venezuelan female who was released Sunday pinch her hubby and 2 children. “Whoever doesn’t person money stays and whoever decides to salary leaves,” she said.

A 28-year-old baker from Ecuador was escorted to a slope to retreat money to free himself, his wife, girl and 4 different relatives. His family was held arsenic security until he returned.

Once nan costs is made, migrants’ photos are taken and their tegument stamped.

Gunmen extremity vans and taxis headed to Tapachula and cheque for nan stamps. Those without them are sent back. Migrants said that erstwhile they sewage to Tapachula they were told to lavation them disconnected to debar problem pinch different gangs.

According to nan nongovernmental statement Fray Matias de Cordova successful Tapachula, astatine slightest one-third of nan hundreds of migrants they person attended to this twelvemonth arrived stamped. Director Enrique Vidal Olascoaga said those who cannot salary are often sexually assaulted.

None of nan families interviewed by AP said they had been harmed.

The charismatic pinch knowledge of migrants’ statements to investigators said that much than 100 migrants freed by information forces successful Ciudad Hidalgo successful September, arsenic good arsenic a group of respective twelve migrants who were shot astatine by soldiers connected Oct. 1, had passed done akin kidnapping and extortion scenarios.

Cartel-controlled border

Organized crime’s strict power astatine Mexico’s confederate separator tracks pinch nan increasing unit generated by nan struggle betwixt nan Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels. The authorities of Chiapas is only 1 of their battlegrounds, but it is cardinal to controlling smuggling routes for people, narcotics and weapons from Central America. Migrants person go nan astir lucrative commodity, according to experts.

The cartels’ progressively fierce beingness is becoming an obstacle to nan organizations trying to thief migrants. Earlier this month, gunmen killed an outspoken Catholic leader successful Chiapas. And Vidal said that sometimes nan groups forestall nan migrants from receiving humanitarian aid.

President Claudia Sheinbaum has said nan authorities is dealing pinch nan violence, but refuses to face nan cartels. She appears to support strategies that began nether nan management of erstwhile President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to rhythm migrants from nan northbound backmost down to nan south exhausting their resources and keeping them acold from nan U.S. separator — exposing them to much kidnappings and extortion.

Ciudad Hidalgo Mayor Elmer Vázquez claimed to not cognize thing astir migrant safe houses operating successful nan area and said his municipality ever looks aft migrants.

But Rev. Vázquez (no narration to nan mayor), who has spent 2 decades defending migrants, said nan prosecutor’s office, National Guard, typical charismatic for crimes against migrants do thing moreover erstwhile crimes are reported.

“They are colluding pinch organized crime and, of course, they make it look for illustration they’re doing their jobs,” he said.

Race against time

In August, nan U.S. authorities expanded entree to CBP One, an online portal utilized to schedule appointments to petition asylum astatine nan border, southbound to Chiapas. Mexico requested nan move to relieve unit migrants felt to recreation northbound to get an appointment.

The Mexican authorities followed by opening “mobility corridors” to thief migrants pinch CBP One appointments to recreation safely from confederate Mexico to nan U.S. border. The appointments are conscionable a first step, but astir applicants are allowed to hold retired nan lengthy process from wrong nan U.S.

But from Sept. 9 to Oct. 11, Mexico’s National Immigration Institute said it had transported only 846 migrants from Tapachula to nan bluish border. Others walking connected their ain person told of being extorted by Mexican authorities and kidnapped – again – by cartels adjacent nan bluish border, forcing them to miss their appointments.

Donald Trump has said he would do distant pinch CBP One and adjacent different ineligible routes to participate nan U.S.

In Tapachula connected Tuesday, hundreds of migrants pinch confirmed CBP One appointments waited extracurricular Mexican migration agency offices for permits that would let them to recreation north.

Jeyson Uqueli, a 28-year-old Honduran, had slept extracurricular nan agency to make judge he was nan first successful statement erstwhile it opened. He was walking alone, but planned to reunite pinch his sister successful New Orleans.

To person immoderate chance astatine doing so, he would person to make it to nan separator betwixt Brownsville, Texas and Matamoros, Mexico by Nov. 6 for his CBP One appointment. He planned to alert from Tapachula to nan bluish metropolis of Monterrey and past return a autobus to Matamoros.

He was tense astir making it successful time, but relieved to person nan appointment, “because Donald Trump is going to travel successful and get free of (them),” he said.