The Mexican National Guard shot and killed two Colombian nationals and wounded four others in what the Defense Department claimed was a confrontation near the US border.
What happened?
The incident happened on a remote road near Tecate, near the California border. Mexican authorities said a National Guard patrol came under fire after encountering two suspicious trucks. As one vehicle escaped, the guards opened fire on the other, killing two Colombians and wounding four others.
The condition of the injured remains unclear and there have been no casualties among the rangers involved.
Meanwhile, one Colombian and one Mexican were found and detained unharmed at the scene, and the defense department said officers found a handgun and several magazines commonly used for assault rifles at the scene.
However, conflicting reports on the number of injured Colombians and unclear whether the group included migrants underscore the uncertainty surrounding the incident.
Mexico’s Defense Department, which controls the National Guard, did not respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment Monday on whether the victims were migrants, but said one of the Colombians who was not injured in the shooting had been turned over to immigration officials.
Colombians are increasingly implicated in brutal cartel operations in Mexico, with some reportedly being recruited as hired gunmen by powerful drug organizations that also play a key role in human smuggling.
However, the latest incident involving Colombian nationals turned out to be unexpected, with Mexican authorities handing over the surviving Colombians to immigration officials, and the Department of Foreign Affairs immediately contacting the Colombian consulate – a move that suggests that those involved are more migrants than cartel operators.
Often, gunmen linked to cartels are known to accompany groups of migrants as protection or, in some cases, kidnap them for ransom to the US border. In this case, officials speculate that armed smugglers may have been on one or both of the trucks, while the Colombians may have been unarmed civilians caught up in the chaos of Mexico’s increasingly militarized border region.
Mexico’s defense department said the three National Guard officers who opened fire have been removed.
Fernando Llano/AP
The same thing happened
It comes after the Mexican government faced increased scrutiny with earlier criticism of the National Guard’s handling of migrant encounters.
Just a few weeks ago, a similar shooting occurred when the army opened fire on a truck, killing six migrants in the southern state of Chiapas. An 11-year-old girl from Egypt, her 18-year-old sister and a 17-year-old boy from El Salvador were killed in the shooting, along with people from Peru and Honduras.
Advocacy groups argue that the Mexican military’s approach to law enforcement has increased the risk to civilians, especially migrants, who are often vulnerable to smugglers and law enforcement.
Former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who left office at the end of September, gave the military an unprecedented wide role in public life and law enforcement; he created a military Guard and used joint military forces as the country’s main law enforcement agency, replacing the police.
Guards have been placed under army control.
But critics say the military is not trained to do civilian law enforcement work.
What Colombia Says?
Colombia’s diplomatic response has so far been muted, with officials calling for clarification and justice for the victims.
In addition, Colombia’s foreign ministry said in a statement Sunday that all the victims were migrants who had been “caught in the crossfire.”
However, the incident could strain bilateral relations and highlight the dangers faced by migrants following treacherous routes to the US.
This article includes a report from The Associated Press.
