Relatives of Guatemalan migrants injured in serious accident say Reuters feel forgotten

By David Toro

SOLOLA, Guatemala (Reuters) – Relatives of a Guatemalan migrant who was involved in a deadly truck accident in Mexico have said they feel forgotten by governments that offer them little chance of staying, and have no protection on the dangerous road to the United States.

On December 7, when Celso Escun Pacheco, 34, left his home in the Guatemalan highlands, he said goodbye to his wife and two young daughters and set out on a dangerous journey to the United States, hoping to find a well-paid job. .

His family never imagined that the trip would be cut short two days later when a truck trailer carrying more than 160 people was overturned because it was among dozens injured in a serious accident in Mexico, just outside the city of Tuxtla Gutierrez in the state of Chiapas.

At least 55 migrants were killed, most of them from Guatemala, one of the worst numbers of migrant deaths in Mexico in the last decade.

Escun, a farm worker who earned about $ 7 a day, was injured but escaped with his life, his wife told Reuters.

In his humble, wood-clad family home in Pamezabal, a small village in Santa Lucía Utatlan, in the municipality of Solola province, Escun’s wife, Lucrecia Alba, said she was left feeling the number of deadly incidents involving migrants. state authorities.

“This is not the first time an accident of this kind has happened. I don’t think any government is interested in the high-risk because it has happened so often,” Alba said.

The event focused on the dangers posed by migrants on their way to the U.S. border, often at the hands of human traffickers known as coyotes. Dozens of immigrants have died in Mexico over the past decade as a result of violence or deadly accidents.

“We need to raise awareness in the governments of Mexico and Guatemala, migrants need more safety on the road,” said Santos Juan Alba, Lucrecia Alba’s uncle. “People are leaving because there’s no choice here.”

The accident highlights the extreme conditions of migrants fleeing Central American countries, including severe poverty and group violence.

Following the accident, Guatemalan officials called on the United States to invest in the region to promote development. Mexico and Guatemala have both pledged to deal with smuggling networks of international people accused of Thursday’s accident.

Enrique Matzar Cocode de Pamezabal, secretary of the local government agency, said the Trump administration’s strict U.S. immigration policies exacerbate the problem.

“With the controls imposed by the (US) government, migration is becoming more and more expensive and dangerous and people will not stop migrating to Guatemala because of the high needs and high levels of corruption,” Matzar said.