Mexico condemns the violent actions of migratory agents captured on video

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Migrants and asylum seekers from Central America and the Caribbean walk in a caravan to the Mexican capital to apply for asylum and refugee style, on a road near Escuintla, in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, August 29, 2021. REUTERS / Jose Torres

MEXICO CITY, Aug 30 (Reuters) – Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) condemned the actions of agents captured on video over the weekend by throwing a migrant to the ground and kicking him in the face with the help of National Guard troops.

The government deployed hundreds of security forces to lead a caravan of migrants and asylum seekers who left the southern city of Tapachula on Saturday for Mexico City, where they hoped to apply for asylum records.

Videos posted on social media showed clashes along a Chiapas state highway between members of the militarized Mexican National Guard and migrants, many of whom were accompanied by young children or carrying babies.

One of the videos shows an INM agent, with the help of national guards carrying riot gear, grabbing one of the migrants and throwing him to the ground, while another agent kicks him in the face.

In a statement, INM announced that the two agents had been “suspended” due to what it described as Saturday misconduct.

“No conduct outside of human rights protocols and policies will be tolerated,” the statement said, adding that an internal inspector will determine additional punishment.

Another video showed members of the National Guard using their shields to beat a migrant carrying a minor.

Neither the INM nor the National Guard made any mention of the videos. It was not clear who had recorded the videos.

The Amnesty International office in Mexico called on Twitter for Mexico to “act with a humanitarian approach in the face of the arrival of Central American and Haitian migrants fleeing the violence and crisis generated by natural disasters.”

The National Guard, in response to Amnesty International, said on Twitter: “We have increased oversight controls to improve procedures and prevent abuses.”

Report by Diego Ore; Additional reports by David Alire Garcia; Written by Anthony Esposito; Edited by Rosalba O’Brien and Chris Reese

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