Mexican Catholic bishops condemn killing of 6 migrants

4/10/2024 6:22

        A group of Mexican Catholic bishops on Thursday condemned
        the killing two days earlier of six migrants by Mexican soldiers
        in the country's south, and the bishops called for an
        investigation into the incident.
        
        Six migrants died and 10 were injured in the southern
        Mexican state of Chiapas on Tuesday after soldiers fired on the
        pick-up truck they were traveling in.
        
        A statement from a migration-focused subgroup of the Mexican
        Episcopal Conference said the group "emphatically rejects the
        disproportionate use of lethal force by agents of the state."
        
        "The Mexican state is obligated to conduct a serious,
        impartial and effective investigation," the statement said.
        
        The victims were from Egypt, El Salvador and Peru, Mexican
        President Claudia Sheinbaum said.
        
        The deaths have raised more questions about the growing
        role of the military in Mexico's policy toward migrants.
        
        "This tragedy arises not as an isolated event, but as a
        consequence of the militarization of migration policy and an
        increased presence of armed forces on the southern border of the
        country, which has been a constant," the bishops group said.
        
        The U.S. has been pressuring Mexico to reduce the number
        of migrants arriving at the border, where record numbers of
        people have tried to cross in recent years, fleeing economic
        hardship and violence.
        
        "It's a regrettable event and it must be investigated and
        punished," Sheinbaum said at a Thursday morning press
        conference.
        
        She said the attorney general's office was investigating the
        incident but did not say whether any action had already been
        taken against the soldiers.
        
        "A situation like this cannot be repeated," she added.
        
        Mexico's defense ministry said soldiers opened fire after
        the pick-up truck carrying 33 migrants tried to evade a military
        patrol.
        
        The defense ministry said soldiers reported hearing
        explosions before the officers opened fire.
        
        On Wednesday, Peru's foreign ministry condemned the
        killings in a statement that said its government would demand
        Mexican authorities "carry out an urgent investigation to
        clarify and determine the responsibilities of this reprehensible
        act."
        
        El Salvador's president's office did not immediately respond
        to a request for comment. Egypt's embassy in Mexico told Reuters
        it did not have information to share regarding the incident.
        
        A security crisis has been growing in the southern Mexican
        region near the Guatemalan border, where a territorial battle
        between powerful drug cartels has led to a sharp increase in
        violence over the last year.