Mexican security forces opened fire on a pick-up truck carrying migrants that tried to ram a patrol vehicle, leaving a Cuban dead and several injured, authorities said Monday.
Leaders of a migrant caravan marching towards Mexico City to demand refugee status said the foreigners were part of their group, accusing the National Guard of an “attack.”
The National Guard said its personnel had located a pick-up truck on a dirt track in the southern state of Chiapas on Sunday after reports that three vehicles had evaded a security checkpoint.
It said in a statement that the driver ignored an order to stop and accelerated towards the patrol, prompting its forces to open fire due to fears for their safety.
Several people tried to flee the vehicle but were detained, while one person was killed and four injured, the National Guard said.
In a statement released late Sunday that did not mention the National Guard’s involvement, the Chiapas attorney general’s office identified the man killed as Cristobal “N,” a Cuban national.
The wounded — all Cubans according to a government source — were taken to hospital.
Nine other foreigners were handed over to the immigration authorities, while the driver was detained by prosecutors, the National Guard said.
Irineo Mujica, one of the leaders of the migrant caravan, said the foreigners had been traveling with the group but decided to break off due to rumors of raids by the authorities.
“They were given a ride by a truck and shot,” Mujica said.
Around 1,000 migrants seeking refugee status set off on foot from the southern city of Tapachula on October 23 demanding “justice, dignity and freedom.”
Tens of thousands of US-bound migrants, mostly Central Americans and Haitians, have arrived in Mexico in recent months fleeing poverty and violence.
Mexico has expelled 54,000 foreigners so far in 2021, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch.
