SAN DIEGO ( Border Report )— Some refugees, including Katerine from Ecuador, have told Border Report they were groped, fondled and robbed by people of Mexico’s National Guard when they attempted to cross the boundary in the mountains south of San Diego.
Katerine claimed that soldiers stopped a group of seven migrants as they approached the boundary hurdle.
She claimed that the girls were taken from the men and transported to a remote location where they were undergoing physical searches.
” They do n’t respect anything, they stick their hands everywhere”, Katerine said in Spanish. ” They asked for$ 2, 500 per person, they told us as migrants, we would have to work to get access to the border”.
Another workers have shared similar stories, including a group of Inhabitants who crossed the border a few weeks ago near Campo, California.
They said soldiers asked them for$ 800 a piece and when they could n’t come up with the money, the soldiers took their cellphones, watches, jewelry and even a pair of shoes.
The National Guard in Mexico is worse and more risky than the pirates, according to one immigrant, “is worse and more risky than the pirates.”
Border Report has made repeated attempts to talk to SEDENA, Mexico’s Secretary of Defense in charge of the men, but our concerns about the claims have gone unanswered.
People of Mexico’s National Guard are accused of human rights and legal privileges violations more frequently than any other officers company in the state, according to the head of the state’s Lawyers Bar Association earlier this year.
He added that soldiers should receive coaching to become better at handling the general public.
