Nuevo Laredo, Tamps., April 5. From January to March, personnel from the Civil Protection and Fire Department recovered the bodies of five migrants who drowned in the Rio Grande while trying to cross into the United States.
In contrast, no migrant bodies were recovered during the same period in 2023, and the number could increase this year .
According to statistics from the Civil Protection and Fire Department on the bodies of migrants recovered from the same river, in 2023 there were nine, in 2022 the figure reached 10, in 2021 the figure reached 20, in 2020 13 victims of the mighty river were reported, equaling those of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the previous year 17 were reported.
In this year's five cases, three of the victims of the mighty river remain unidentified, and two are Guatemalan migrants who had identification in their clothing.
The first case was reported on February 11; the victim was identified as Elfido González Díaz, 32, originally from Chiquimula, Guatemala. His body was recovered in a state of decomposition.
Days later, on February 18, the body of José Luis Espinoza López, 24, was recovered.
They were identified by means of the Personal Identification Document issued by the National Registry of Persons in the Republic of Guatemala.
