A Mexican train company stopped 60 routes because many migrants were catching free rides on their trains.
A Mexican train company, Ferromex, stopped 60 routes to prevent accidents or deaths caused by a surge of migrants hitching rides on their trains.
This increase in migrants trying to catch free rides is unusual. Many climb on the roofs or hold onto the sides of the trains, risking their lives.
The trains are called “The Beast” by migrants. Some have been injured or killed recently. These trains are used by migrants to travel a long distance from the south to the north of Mexico. Since the train cars are usually full of goods, most people ride on the roof or hang on the sides.
This is very dangerous, as they could fall and get seriously hurt. There are also criminal gangs that target these trains and harm or steal from the migrants.
Ferromex mentioned that over 1,500 people were on top of a train and inside a train station in Torreón, a place where trains start their journey to various cities on the US border.
Hundreds more were at other important spots along the railroad, with more than 1,000 on the roofs of train cars on the route between Chihuahua and Ciudad Juárez. Families with children were among those trying to board the trains.
This situation is concerning because international groups have warned about the growing number of children taking this land route from Mexico to the US. UNICEF, a group that helps children, says that there are now more children migrating through Latin America and the Caribbean than ever before.
They leave their homes because of problems like gang violence, instability, poverty, and events related to the climate. The United States Customs and Border Protection reported that in the first seven months of 2023, over 83,000 children crossed the US’s southern border.
At some crossing points, almost all the children are younger than 11 years old, according to UNICEF’s information.
SOURCE: BBC