Central American Migrants Say Journey Through Mexico Is 'Hell on Earth' Axel Avendano - El Universal
go to original January 1, 2017

After spending more than six years documenting the movement of undocumented migrants from Mexico to the U.S., Jason De León recently turned his attention to those fleeing violence and poverty in Central America for their chance to make it to the U.S. (University of Michigan)

Having to cross Mexico to get to the United States can become the worst nightmare for many migrants, especially for those from Central America, who repeatedly report human rights abuses, often at the hands of Mexico's armed forces. Due to their widespread exploitation, they've become a lucrative market for organized crime, which is now valued at 10 billion dollars per year, according to researchers at the Ibero-American University, one of Mexico's and Latin America's most prestigious private universities.

“If life is difficult in Mexico for many Mexicans, then it's a nightmare for Central Americas. The violation of their human rights is widespread and a major problem,” said José Martín Íñiguez Ramos, a history professor and researcher at the Ibero-American University.

During the university's conference “Migrants: What are they escaping from and where are they headed to?”, José Martín said that the federal government's Southern Border Plan (Programa Forntera Sur) has forced Mexico to act as U.S.'s “border patrol,” since, he argues, it makes Mexico's armed forces persecute migrants and treat them like criminals.

As an example, the university's coordinator of Migration Studies Javier Urbano says that one-third of human rights violations are committed by government agents or people with ties to government authorities.

According to Javier, there are an average of 100,000 high and low-impact crimes committed against migrants that are reported every year. These crimes include disappearances, murder, rape, mutilation, human trafficking, abductions and extortion.

...However, despite all these risks, making it to the U.S. is the only option for many Central Americans.

Read the rest at El Universal

Related: Humanitarian Crisis at the Tijuana-San Diego Border (Workers World)

Related: One Cuban Family’s 6,600-Mile Trail to America (KERA News)

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