In pics: Migrant caravan leaves southern Mexico days after Texas tragedy

Fifty-three people believed to be migrants were found dead and at least a dozen others were hospitalized after they were found inside an abandoned tractor-trailer rig on Monday on a remote back road in south-west San Antonio, officials have said. The discovery in Texas may prove to be the deadliest tragedy among thousands of people who have died attempting to cross the US border from Mexico in recent decades.

“This incident underscores the need to go after the multibillion-dollar criminal smuggling industry preying on migrants and leading to far too many innocent deaths”, President Biden said. 

Large scale caravans consisting of people from South and Central America have been taking place periodically since 2018. Forced to leave their homes due to rising poverty, violence and socio-political turmoil, thousands from Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvadore enter Mexico, with the hopes of finally reaching the United States. 

The migrant caravan began in the city of Tapachula, near the Mexico-Guatemala border, following two others organized earlier this month with large contingents of Venezuelans. Both caravans disbanded in nearby towns.

As per a report by the Associated Press, people have been complaining for months now that Mexico’s migrant containment policy holds them far from the US, in the southernmost parts of the country, and makes their lives extremely difficult. Many of them continue to be burdened with large debts that were incurred for their migration and there aren’t many job prospects in Tapachula either. 

"I'm fleeing Cuba with my wife and daughter because of the suffocating, criminal, assassin Castro-Canel dictatorship", migrant Samuel Ventura said.

Asked about the Monday deaths of migrants in an overheated tractor-trailer in Texas, people in the caravan expressed sympathy, with some saying they were walking to avoid the danger of taking other modes of transportation. They believe that it's high time now and that they should also be treated equally.

"We really are in mourning", said Moises Velez, a migrant from Venezuela. "It hurts all of us".

The suspected truck driver carrying the bodies, has been charged. According to a top Mexican immigration official, the suspected driver, Mr Zamorano, who is from Texas, had "tried to pass himself off as one of the survivors" when he was found by police. A second suspect, Christian Martinez, was arrested on conspiracy charges. Federal prosecutors say investigators found him after searching through Mr Zamorano's phone and discovering the pair had been communicating.

The US Justice Department announced that the two men could face a maximum sentence of life in prison, or possibly the death penalty, if convicted. Two further suspects linked to the address where the truck was registered have also been arrested on firearm offences.