Migrant Shipwreck in the Oaxaca sea left several dead and missing; look for the bodies

2018

Local reports indicated that the group was made up of about 35 people from Ecuador, mostly, and Cuba. Among the fatalities, there would be minors.

A group of migrants from Ecuador seeking to reach the United States suffered a mishap on the boat in which they were traveling, in the border area between Oaxaca and Chiapas. At least four of them died after the shipwreck. However, the authorities have not yet found the bodies of the fatalities.

According to the Oaxaca State Attorney General’s Office (FGEO), several of the migrants managed to be rescued. Although they did not detail the number of survivors, local reports indicated that there are about 9 people as missing (it is presumed that the group was made up of about 35 individuals).

The events occurred on November 18, when the vessel “went adrift” while navigating the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, without the causes of the shipwreck being known to date. Since the Oaxaca Prosecutor’s Office became aware of the facts, it provided assistance to the aggrieved.

“The survivors point out that at least four people (among them there would be minors) died as a result of this incident, for which reason the FGEO carries out continuous tracking and location tasks, without it having been possible to locate the bodies of the victims up to now. the victims”

The shipwreck happened on the maritime border between Oaxaca and Chiapas in Mexico.  The Mexican authorities have not yet ruled.  (1800Migrant.com)The shipwreck happened on the maritime border between Oaxaca and Chiapas in Mexico. The Mexican authorities have not yet ruled. (1800Migrant.com)

The people who managed to survive moved to a shelter located in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Oaxaca, while another group of wounded was treated at a hospital in Tonalá, Chiapas, according to reports from the organization 1800 Migrante. Some of them issued their testimonies and confirmed the death of an infant who was already buried. Among the disappeared there would be about five minors.

Local media reported that among the migrants there were also people from Cuba. Meanwhile, the relatives of the victims ask the immigration authorities to support them to repatriate their bodies, although the National Institute of Migration (INM) has not provided further details in this regard.

More than 15 thousand migrants intercepted

Between November 17 and 20, the INM intercepted 16,096 migrants who came from 46 different countries. The majority were originally from Venezuela (4,968), Guatemala (2,987), Nicaragua (1,385), Honduras (1,311), and Ecuador (1,285), who transited irregularly through 22 states of the Republic.

Given the low temperatures and the dangers to which migrants are exposed, the INM increased the capacity in the care centers located in Aguascalientes, Chiapas, Durango, Hidalgo, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Veracruz and Zacatecas, in order to safeguard its integrity.

In the early hours of November 21, the INM intercepted more than 300 migrants in Veracruz (Photo: INM)In the early hours of November 21, the INM intercepted more than 300 migrants in Veracruz (Photo: INM)

The states where the migrants were detained were in Baja California, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Mexico City, Durango, State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatan, and Zacatecas.

The most recent actions were recorded in the early hours of November 21, when INM federal agents intercepted four buses with migrants on board, after they evaded a checkpoint and tried to flee in Nuevo Teapa, municipality of Moloacán, in Veracruz.

In the three units, 337 migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, Cuba, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Honduras were traveling. At least 43 were minors, 196 were adults and 98 were traveling in 32 family units.

In these events, four people were arrested, while the buses and a private vehicle were seized and made available to the corresponding authorities.

The Oaxaca Post