Mexican prosecutors presumed deaths in boat capsizing
Last year, 37,000 Chinese illegally entered the U.S.
According to Reuters, eight Chinese immigrants were found dead off the southern coast of Mexico.
On the 1st (local time), the Oaxaca state prosecutor’s office in Mexico announced that the nationality of the eight bodies found on the beach of Playa Vicente village has been confirmed to be Chinese.
Local prosecutors believe a boat capsizing caused the deaths. The prosecutor stated, “Investigations have revealed that seven Chinese women and one man were on the boat with one survivor,” and “According to the survivor’s statement, they are believed to have boarded the boat guided by a Mexican man they met in southern Tapachula on the 28th of last month.”
Currently, the prosecutor’s office is cooperating with the Chinese Embassy in Mexico to find out the exact identities of the deceased.
This area, close to the southern Guatemalan border region of Chiapas, is part of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a major route for illegal immigrants trying to reach the U.S. border in northern Mexico by land.
Recently, attempts by Chinese people to enter the United States illegally have surged. Earlier, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded that around 37,000 Chinese were caught trying to cross the southern U.S. border illegally last year. According to The New York Times (NYT), this number is higher than the combined total of the previous 10 years (around 15,000).
U.S. media, including The Washington Post (WP), have reported that Chinese people are choosing to go to the U.S. to escape the economic downturn and political repression in their home country.
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