Perils en Route to US Mean More Central Americans Now Pin Hopes on Mexico Lauren Villagran - The Christian Science Monitor
go to original June 13, 2013

Migrants walk along the rail tracks after getting off a train during their journey toward the US-Mexico border in Ixtepec, southern Mexico. (Eduardo Verdugo/AP)

Long an advocate for immigrant rights in the US, Mexico is increasingly following its northern neighbor's footsteps, opting for apprehensions and heightened security along its southern border. It's there that hundreds of Central American migrants begin the treacherous journey north – a route that has become so risky that increasing numbers are choosing to try their luck in Mexico.

President Enrique Peña Nieto's promises to strengthen security at the country’s historically porous southern boundary came into focus last week with the announcement that the Marines will coordinate border security at the more than 620-mile border with Guatemala and Belize.

The route to el norte, the United States, is more dangerous and costly than ever. Over the past eight months, rights workers say criminals associated with Mexico’s Zetas drug cartel have taken control of the freight train route from Tabasco at the southern border to Tamaulipas in the north, the crossing point to the United States. Migrants face robbery, extortion, kidnapping, and death threats.

Read the rest at The Christian Science Monitor

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