Mexico and US take measures against migrant smugglers

By James Blears

Following the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Mexico City for a high-level meeting with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a joint decision has been made to focus law and order measures upon migrant smugglers, known as “coyotes”, often as not connected to the powerful, wealthy and ultra-violent drug cartels. For large sums of money and often an even higher price in loss of lives, they are moving thousands of undocumented migrants on trains, or concealed in unventilated trailers of trucks, many times with tragic consequences. US Officials are praising current Mexican detection actions, claiming this is significantly reducing crossings during the last few days. But actually, this drop is more likely connected to the Christmas season.

Mexico’s President Lopez Obrador says that important key agreements have now been reached, without elaborating for the time being. US authorities confirm the number of undocumented migrant detentions at the Border between 2022 and 2023 exceeded two million people. Many more have already reached US soil, while thousands are languishing in temporary camps on the Mexican side.

A political conundrum

The issue became a hot potato political tangle in Washington, with the Republican-controlled Congress refusing to allocate funding for war-ravaged Ukraine without firm commitments leading to laws to strengthen border enforcement.

The current thorn in both sides, and on both sides, is an on-the-move migrant caravan mostly consisting of Venezuelan, Haitian, and Honduran migrants, heading through Mexico bound for the US border. In past years, Mexican troops, police, and immigration officers have halted caravans, leading to desperate confrontations. Migrants have then been put on one-way flights home. But many return to try all over again.

Texas is creating a tough new law, which would imprison persistent, so-called offenders.

It has not been revealed what action will be taken to prevent thousands of Central American migrants who annually vanish while passing through Mexico. Many who can not meet the criminals’ financial demands are murdered and their bodies are buried in clandestine burial sites in the wilderness of vast and desolate badlands.