Mexican authorities found 87 migrants from Latin America and Asia in the trailer of a truck that was circulating on the Tapachula-Huehuetán highway, in the southern state of Chiapas, bordering Guatemala, the National Migration Institute (INM) of Mexico reported this Wednesday. .

In the vehicle were 46 adults who were traveling alone and 41 “women, men and minors who made up 14 family units,” according to a statement from the organization.

The authorities intercepted the truck on Tuesday night at a checkpoint on the highway between Tapachula and Huehuetán, according to the INM, and the driver and his companion “fled from the scene.”

The organization detailed that citizens from nine different countries were identified: Dominican Republic, Cuba, Honduras, Ecuador, El Salvador, Bangladesh, Uruguay, Guatemala and China, who “could not prove their regular stay” in Mexico.

“With full respect for their rights and guarantees, the adults were taken to INM facilities to begin the corresponding administrative procedure,” according to the statement, which adds that the families “were accompanied to a shelter of the entity” under the guardianship of the System for the Comprehensive Development of the Family.

The transport of migrants in overcrowded conditions reflects the “unprecedented” migratory flow from Mexico and Central America, as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has previously warned, which in early November reported an annual increase of more than 60%. irregular migration that crosses Mexican territory in 2023.