14ymedio, Mexico, December 15, 2023 — A family of nine Cubans got lost last Wednesday in the mountainous area from Tijuana to Tecate in the Mexican state of Baja California, in their attempt to reach the United States. The migrants managed to make a phone call to the city council to ask for help and were rescued.
The municipal director of care for migrants, Enrique Lucero Vázquez, told local media that between October and December of this year, they have rescued 31 people. The National Institute of Migration (INM) took care of the Cubans, and their legal status was not reported, only that they would be transferred to the immigration station located in the state.
It is not known if the Cubans were abandoned by people leading them. The route is widely used by coyotes to bring migrants to the United States. In recent months, according to the head of State Migration, David Pérez Tejada Padilla, between 200 and 300 people crossed illegally through this route. “These are the figures provided by the Border Patrol; I am also impressed by the data,” the official told El Sol de Tijuana.
The authorities have a map showing the main illegal crossing points, among which are, in addition to the area of Tijuana and Tecate, the canyons of the Matadero and the Plaza Monumental, in Playas de Tijuana.
This week the Government of Mexico admitted that irregular crossings increased by 31% between December 1st and 7th, compared to the same period last month. According to the U.S. Border Patrol, most have been in Tucson, Arizona (19,935), Del Río, Texas (15,702) and San Diego, California (12,062)
At the same time, irregular crossings of unaccompanied minors increased by 11% between October and November of this year, from 11,522 to 12,806, respectively. On the other hand, the detentions of family units decreased by 2% between October (106,290) and November (104,227).
The flow of Cubans through Mexico remains constant. According to data from the Mexican Commission for Aid to Refugees (Comar), migrants from the Island represent the third group with the highest number of applications, with 17,686, only below Hondurans with 40,142 and Haitians with 43,459.
On their journey through Mexico, numerous Cubans have died. The most recent case is that of Yariosqui Meriño Betancourt, from Guantánamo, who died of a heart attack last Wednesday. He was living in the municipality of Jalapa, Nueva Segovia (Nicaragua), and he left three weeks ago to settle in the United States. He was 30 years old and passionate about bodybuilding
Through a video, the Yariosqui Meriño’s sister, asked for help to collct the 5,000 dollars hat she needs to return his body to Guantánamo.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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