Migrants at a camp in the northern Mexican city of Chihuahua set fire to blankets and mattresses to avoid arrest during a raid by Mexican authorities in the early hours of Saturday. The operation, which took place just days before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, was part of a larger effort by the Mexican government to clear the encampment and deter migrants attempting to reach the US border.
By 250, National Guard military police in anti-riot gear ringed the camp near midnight. As the officers approached, migrants began to set their belongings afire as an act of protest and started trying to make off with children and other personal effects. The fire was extinguished in less than an hour. Nobody was reportedly hurt or killed.
An unnamed migration official who addressed the public claimed that, “The object of the sweep was to ferry migrants to southern Mexico, on whose border those being deported are to be handed notices instructing them to return home.” It could not be clarified how many have been arrested or taken into police custody in the recent operation.
Many of the migrants at the camp were Venezuelan families traveling northward toward the US Among them was Daniel Barrios, who said he was shocked by the sudden appearance of the police and military forces. “They surrounded the camp. they said they were just doing an inspection,” Barrios said. “It doesn’t make sense to come with such a large force in the middle of the night.”
As tensions escalated, several families were seen running from the camp visibly frightened and dazed. A woman was even seen crying and holding her children close to her as red smoke from the fire billowed into the sky.
This raid forms part of a broader effort to migrate in Mexico, which has been stepped up in response to pressure from the Trump administration.
