A court in Mexico has convicted
11 ex-police officers of killing a group of migrants near the US border in
2021.
The bodies of 17 migrants
were found in a burnt-out vehicle in the town of Camargo in Tamaulipas state.
Investigators say they were
killed as part of a turf war between criminal gangs over control of migrant
smuggling routes in the area.
Every year, thousands of
people from Central America attempt to make the long journey to the US through
Mexico
A total of 19 bodies were
found in the charred vehicle in Camargo in January 2021.
Sixteen were found to be
from Guatemala and one from Honduras.
The other two bodies were
those of Mexican traffickers taking them to the border, investigators said.
Forensic tests showed that
they were shot dead before being set alight.
Initially, 12 officers faced
murder charges, but one was convicted of abuse of power after cooperating with
investigators.
One of the victims was
22-year-old football player Marvin Tomás, from Comitancillo in Guatemala.
Killings of migrants are
not unusual in Mexico. In 2010, 72 were murdered in San Fernando, also in
Tamaulipas state. And in 2012, 49 dismembered bodies were found in Cadereyta in
Nuevo León.
The Zetas cartel controls
much of the region and is thought to target immigrants who try to cross it
without paying the gang.
Municipal and state police
officers are often recruited by cartels - either by the offer of large sums or
by threats - to turn a blind eye or even provide the cartels with safe passage.
0 Comments