At least 16 Venezuelan and Haitian migrants killed in bus crash in Mexico
By Zuleihat Owuiye, Mamos Nigeria
A bus crash in the Mexican state of Oaxaca on Friday killed 16 people, most of them migrants, according to local authorities.
The victims included three children and two women, all from Venezuela and Haiti, according to the Oaxaca state attorney general. At least 27 people were injured and taken to area hospitals.
Images posted by authorities on Facebook show a large bus that overturned and was badly damaged on a curve on the mountainous Oaxaca-Cuanopalan Expressway.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident, which occurred at 5 a.m. local time (7 a.m. ET). Oaxaca’s attorney general’s office initially said 18 people died in the crash, but revised that figure late Friday night.
The tragedy comes after at least 10 Cuban migrants, including children, were killed in southern Mexico on Sunday when a truck they were traveling in overturned, local authorities said.
Venezuela and Haiti are the countries of origin for large numbers of migrants heading north to escape security and economic crisis in their home countries.
U.S. and Mexican officials are struggling to deal with the arrivals, and Washington is increasing pressure on Mexico City to be more responsible for those crossing its territory.
Food shortages and limited access to health care have forced more than 7.7 million people to flee in Venezuela alone, a level of displacement greater than in Ukraine, where there is an active war.
Biden administration officials on Thursday said the United States would resume direct deportations of Venezuelans to the country to stem a record influx, marking a major policy shift.
Meanwhile, Haiti awaits a new multinational mission to bring order to a country currently ravaged by uncontrolled gang violence, kidnappings and food insecurity.
