Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has condemned the killing of six migrants by Mexican soldiers as “deplorable” and called for an investigation into the incident. The soldiers opened fire on a truck carrying 33 migrants near the Guatemala border, claiming they heard “explosions” coming from the vehicle. The six victims were citizens of Egypt, Peru, and El Salvador. Sheinbaum called for the soldiers involved to be investigated and punished.
The incident has sparked outrage and presents an early challenge for Sheinbaum, who was just inaugurated as president this week. The area between Mexico and Guatemala is a common route for smuggling migrants, and the use of deadly force by Mexican authorities has been criticized by migrant rights activists.
The Roman Catholic Mexican Council of Bishops condemned the killings as a disproportionate use of force, attributing it to the militarization of immigration policy under former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Sheinbaum, a member of the same party as Lopez Obrador, is expected to continue his policies.
Despite the incident, Sheinbaum emphasized during a visit to a military base that there is no state of siege or human rights violations in the country, focusing instead on wage increases for the troops. The Attorney General’s office is investigating the incident, but details on any actions taken against the soldiers involved have not been disclosed.
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