US-bound truck disguised as official Mexican Food Ministry vehicle and packed with more than 170 migrants crashes on highway (photos)

A US bound truck smuggling 170 migrants crashed on a highway in Veracruz, Mexico, on Wednesday, January 12 injuring 38 of which 8 were children.

The trailer was heading to Mexico City when it crashed into a concrete road divider. The truck was disguised with fake logos to look like an official Mexican Food Ministry vehicle, bound for the US.

About 132 migrants including the driver fled the scene before authorities arrived while the injured ones were taking into custody by the Veracruz State public security ministry.

The truck had been traveling on highway 150 D Veracruz-Puebla and bound for Mexico City on its way north to the US when it crashed, Veracruz state public security ministry confirmed.

The National Institute of Migration identified the 38 migrants as natives of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. All of the individuals were placed in custody of the immigration agency for processing.

‘The migrants are being attended to. We are also checking how they were transported and who was transporting them,’ Secretary of the Interior Adán López said, as quoted by Mexican digital news outlet López Doriga. ‘Our priority is the protection of migrants, guaranteeing free transit.’

According to the Mexican government data, more than 252,000 undocumented US bound migrants were intercepted in Mexico between January 2021 and November 2021. At least 100,000 were deported during the same period.