COVID-19, caravans and migrant smuggling in Mexico

Abstract

The migration of Central Americans and other countries in transit through Mexico, registers a centuries-old tradition that is confused with Mexicans, who historically are greater than transmigrantes in their crossing through our territory. In recent years, aggravated by the impact of the economic crises, violence in the region, and the brutal blow of the COVID-19 pandemic, the growing migration of Central Americans and Mexicans has exploded into a notorious severity, now contaminated by the meddling of gangs. of "organized crime" (OC) by the thriving business of "migrant smuggling" (TIM), to the point of being identified as a true "migration crisis". Mexico went from being a transit country to a de facto “safe third country”, as it is now a region of “origin, transit, destination and return of migrants”. The work aims to delve into the new phenomenon of contamination of traditional migration, with the complicity of migration facilitators (polleros and coyotes), federal, state and municipal regulatory authorities, the Army, Navy and National Guard (GN), together with the criminal gangs that are members of the OC, affecting the fundamental rights of transmigrantes and compatriot migrants. The research methodology is based on a bibliographic review, newspaper articles and reports from independent organizations, applying field work with interviews with 40 transmigrants, located on the northern border of Tamaulipas, Monterrey and two cities in the interior. Among the results of the work, the migrants speak of the increased risks during the journey to the border, due to the involvement of the smugglers with OC gangs. The main conclusion is that recent migration is impacted by violations, abuses and mistreatment of migrants, increasing the impact on their human rights and increasing the costs of transfers, without guaranteeing their arrival in the United States, turning Mexico into a new forced fate.