10 Nepalis arrested in Mexico while illegally entering into USA

KATHMANDU: Mexico detained 10 illegal immigrants packed into a truck bound for the U.S. border on Tuesday, international news agencies reported.

They were found near the southern city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, capital of Chiapas state, including nine Bangladeshis trying to reach the United States, officials said.

Authorities said the migrants were traveling in inhumane conditions. The driver of the vehicle, who was from central Mexico, was arrested on human trafficking charges.

The truck set out from Huehuetenango, Guatemala, and police detected the migrants with an x-ray at a checkpoint outside Tuxtla Gutierrez after midnight on Monday. The migrants were on their way to the United States, state prosecutors said.

Several of the migrants were treated for hand and leg injuries, and some struggled to breathe due to the “overcrowded conditions” on the truck, Mexico’s National Migration Institute said.

“It’s a long journey and they intended to travel to the United States like that, literally hidden,” said Hector Flores, a spokesman for the Chiapas state prosecutor’s office. “Obviously, those are not optimal conditions for human beings.”

The entire group, which included seven minors, is likely to face deportation proceedings.