Mexico City — Two cousins returned to a small hard scrubbull settlement that grew up in southern Mexico about two weeks ago and became a transit ritual for a generation of immigrants from them. Say goodbye to. A remote and poor mountainous region of Oaxaca.
After saying goodbye to the Cerro Verde community, Javier Flores López and Jose Luis Vásquez Guzmán head north to the U.S.-Mexico border to their final destination in Ohio, where construction and other work awaits. I started trekking towards.
Flores Lopez is currently missing, his family said. Meanwhile, Basquez Guzman overcame the heat wave in a tractor trailer near Texas City, was hospitalized in San Antonio, and a dangerous journey for migrants who climbed to a place of death for many seeks a better life. It reflects the increased risk faced by people to escape the severe poverty, violence and other desperate situations in Mexico and Central America.
Cerro Verde is a community of about 60 people who are almost abandoned by young people. People who continue to work live a poor life, weaving sun hats, mats, brooms, etc. from palm leaves. Many people live on 30 pesos (less than $ 2) a day.
"The truth is that people are forced to leave here," said Felicitos Garcia, who owns a small grocery store in nearby San Miguel Wautra, to two men about two weeks ago. I added that I met. "Life here is hard. People survive by growing their own crops such as corn, beans, and wheat. When the rain arrives late, the land may or may not give it. People Has no place to have other resources. People live from one day to the next. "
This is not the first time Flores Lopez has visited the US-Mexico border. was. Flores Lopez, in his mid-thirties, left Seroverde a few years ago to Ohio, where his father and brother lived.
He went home and briefly met his wife and three little children, said his cousin Francisco Lopez Hernandez. The 32-year-old Vásquez Guzmán decided to go on his first cross-border trip with his cousin and wanted to contact his brother in Ohio.
While everyone knew the risk, I was shocked that countless people from Cerro Verde achieved it safely across the US-Mexico border with the help of smugglers. Said Lopez Hernandez. 67 people packed in a trailer were found abandoned near a car demolition yard on Monday. The family believes Flores Lopez was so, but they are still waiting for confirmation.
The driver remained in custody with two other men from Mexico for the duration of the investigation.
According to the Bexar County Medical Examiner ’s Office, as of Wednesday morning, authorities were conducting potential identification of 37 victims.
The dead include 27 from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, 7 from Guatemala and 2 from El Salvador, Francisco Gardunho, head of the National Institute of Immigration, Mexico. Says.
It was difficult to identify them because they were found without ID and in some cases had stolen IDs. In remote villages like Cerro Verde, there is little or no telephone service to contact family members, and fingerprint data needs to be shared and collated by the relevant government.
Basquez Guzman's mother, who is trying to get a visa to meet his son in Texas, said he and three of them after his father died when Basquez Guzman was 10 years old. I raised my brother alone. She was left in Cerro Verde. Vásquez Guzmán left at the age of 18 and joined the Mexican army.
His brother, Eloy, went to the United States about a year ago and settled in Ohio, said Lopez Hernandez, who grew up on the ranch next door.
"I think he commented on his job situation, everything, and how to make more money," López Hernández said. "I think he also came and called him to live a better life. That's the draw for why he went."
I've lived in Mexico City for the past six years. Vásquez Guzmán returned to Cerro Verde just to say goodbye to his mother, López Hernández said.
He knew it was an expensive and dangerous trip. According to López Hernández, most people rely on sending travel expenses, typically about $ 9,000, to those arriving in the United States.
"There are many risks, but for those who are lucky, they are lucky to be able to work and earn a living," he said.
With so many people leaving the United States and heading to the United States, finding smugglers is easy and people have passed safely, López Hernández said.
"In this case, I don't know if they changed, what happened, or why they were abandoned," he said.
Lopez Hernandez, whose brother lives in Ohio, considered joining him. But he said his family, work, school and other responsibilities kept him in Mexico.
This week he asked his uncle if he had heard from Basquez Guzman. He told him he was in Texas.
"I told him," How cool, he's working hard and I'll see him when he comes back, "Lopez Hernandez said before losing the phone signal. answered.
He later learned about tragedy from the internet.