TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico – Police in five cities across southernmost Chiapas state apprehended 441 undocumented Central American migrants over the weekend, nearby all of whom hoped to pass through Mexico en route to the U.S. border, authorities said. The largest group was discovered Saturday in the state capital, Tuxtla Gutierrez, where police officers stopping a cargo truck whose driver ran a red light discovered 168 Central Americans who had sneaked illegally into the country, said Moises Grajales, a local transit police captain.
The truck's driver and a passenger are wanted on suspicions of people smuggling, but flashed pistols at police and fled on foot during the traffic stop, Grajales said.
Many of those packed inside the truck were taken away in ambulances and received medical treatment for dehydration before being taken to the Guatemala-Mexico border for deportation, he said.
Also on Saturday, police in the community of Tonala reported that they had captured 123 undocumented migrants from various Central American countries and similar arrests netted 100 Central Americans in the town of Arriaga, and 10 in Cintalapa.
In still another town, Malpaso, authorities came upon 12 Central Americans who were wandering along a highway after being abandoned by people smugglers who had promised to help them sneak through Mexico and into the United States.
A sing operation at three cantinas in Comalapa also led to the arrest of 28 undocumented women from Central America who are accused of engaging in prostitution. The bars were apparently owned by the mayor, Jose Ulber Lopez, but he has yet to be officially charged with wrongdoing.
Thousands of undocumented migrants from Central America and Mexico slip illegally into the United States during the early spring months. It is a key time for people smuggling because the weather there is improving with the end of winter, but the scorching summer months have not yet brought deadly temperatures to border deserts.