Through a Traffic Ticket, the Mexican Police Discover a Coyote Taking Seven Cubans to the United States

The group of seven Cubans, one woman and six men, were handed over to Migration. (Captura)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico, 18 August 2022 — Police from the Mexican municipality of Monterrey arrested a coyote on Wednesday, who had charged seven Cubans 21,000 pesos ($1,050) to take them in a van to the state of Coahuila, from where they planned to cross the Rio Grande to reach El Paso, Texas.

The smuggler, identified as José Ascencio, was stopped for driving a van with polarized glass, which is cause for a fine, according to state traffic regulations. “When he was arrested, the driver left the van but couldn’t avoid the inspection, exposing a woman and six men of Cuban nationality,” Officer Cerón, of the municipal police, told 14ymedio.

Authorities from the National Institute of Migration (INM) took charge of the Cubans, who couldn’t verify their legal stay in the country, so they were transferred to a migration center. They will have a safe conduct pass to leave the country within 20 days, and if they’re arrested again they will be deported.

“They opened an investigation on the driver for smuggling and human trafficking, and the Prosecutor’s Office Specialized in Migration Affairs will follow up on the case,” explained the municipal police.

The van with the Cubans was intercepted on Bernardo Reyes Avenue, in a marginal area of the state of Nuevo León, where the passage of migrants predominates due to the proximity to the Central Bus Station and several hostels. This point is three hours from Coahuila.

According to figures from the Migration Policy Unit of the Ministry of the Interior, 8,496 migrants were detained in Nuevo León, including 325 Cubans, in the first half of the year. These people are locked up at the Zozaya immigration center, in Guadeloupe, a site that has been denounced for human rights violations, extortion and threats by immigration agents.

The Cubans, Claridad Falcón Roque, Adrialys Caamaño Domínguez, Alejandro Lázaro Falcón Roque, César Mulet Marrero, Brian Michel Tasé Duarte and Dianet Ruiz Herrera, who spent more than a month in Zozaya, were released after paying about $1,000, although they had an amparo* granted by a judge.

The inconsistent treatment against Cubans in immigration centers has been a constant in the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. This newspaper received a complaint about the arbitrary detention of a family from the Island in the state of Puebla.

Yenisleidy Hernández Sánchez, Maikel Presno Sosa and their two sons, Eimis and Maikel Andrew, were imprisoned for more than a week at the immigration center, said lawyer José Luis Pérez Jiménez. “It’s evident that this is a violation of the human rights of detainees and Article 111 of the Migration Law,” since the agents imposed on them the payment of 10,000 pesos for their release, which is not stipulated in any immigration rule.

The irregular transfer of Cubans is encouraged by the Migration Unit, which has delayed the delivery of transit visas for up to 30 days. Some, such as in the state of Chiapas, are being deceived with the delivery of a humanitarian visa in the municipalities of Unión Juárez, Tuxtla Chico and Suchiate, near the border with Guatemala.

But the reality is that, since July, the only document that Migration is granting is a transit visa, which guarantees a regular stay for 30 days.

*Translator’s note: An amparo is a decree guaranteeing constitutional protection of rights.  

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.