Mexico Deploys 8700 Troops to Cut Migrant Traffic to U.S. Border

Military Police form up on the highway, in Metapa, Chiapas state Mexico, Wednesday, June 5
AP Photo/Marco Ugarte

Mexico deployed 8,715 soldiers to stop the flow of migrants to the U.S. border, according to new federal disclosures. The move comes as U.S. immigration authorities struggle to absorb the rising number of Central American migrants entering that country.

During a news conference, Secretary of Defense Luis Cresencio Sandoval said the military set up 347 immigration checkpoints in Mexico along three main routes (Gulf, Center, Pacific). According to Sandoval, military forces had already “rescued” 12,905 migrants in March. Sandoval did not specify if the migrants were simply apprehended or if they were being held involuntarily by human smuggling organizations.

Sandoval’s announcement comes at the same time that U.S. President Joe Biden announced a diplomatic delegation to Mexico to discuss the ongoing immigration crisis.

After experiencing the start of a surge in migrants, Mexico deployed close to 1,000 National Guardsmen and members of the National Immigration Institute to its southern border in January. That move has proven largely inconsequential since migrants continue to reach Mexican northern states like Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon. In recent weeks, authorities in Mexico raided hotels and stash houses. Officials also stopped large groups of migrants stuffed in tractor-trailers.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.     

Gerald “Tony” Aranda is a contributing writer for Breitbart Texas.

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