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NINE MIGRANTS drowned while attempting to cross the Rio Grande, which separates Mexico from the U.S. on Thursday, according to the latest update from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which reported Saturday the location of a ninth body.
The drownings occurred after a large group of people attempted to cross the Rio Grande, which is used by thousands of migrants each year to reach the U.S. and is known for its dangerous currents, worsened these days by heavy rains.
U.S. border agents recovered six of the nine bodies and Mexican agents found three, one more than the first figures released on Friday. No information on their nationality or age has been released.
U.S. authorities also rescued 37 migrants who were in the river. Those 37 and 16 others were detained for attempting to reach the U.S. irregularly, while on the Mexican side of the border another 39 people who were part of the group were apprehended.
CBP said the effort is continuing in search of other possible victims.
A CBP spokesman told EFE on Friday that the migrants were trying to reach the U.S. through the area of the Rio Grande closest to the town of Eagle Pass (Texas), which belongs to the sector that CBP calls “Del Rio” and which has become one of the points with the highest number of crossings per year.
In July alone, according to data posted on the patrol’s website, Border Patrol agents made 50,000 arrests in Del Rio, more than in any other area of the U.S.-Mexico border.
So far this fiscal year, a period that ends at the end of September, more than 376,100 migrants have been apprehended in that area, which is nearly ten times more than in 2020.
The figures show that half of the migrants and refugees arrested are from socialist countries such as Cuba and Venezuela. In fact, in July, more than 14,000 Venezuelans and 10,000 Cubans were detained in that area.
