A Cuban citizen and three other migrants were rescued from a portable water tank in which they were traveling enclosed and unable to exit on their own, during an operation by the Border Patrol in Eagle Pass, Texas.
The rescue took place on September 14, when agents from the Eagle Pass station of the Del Rio Sector intercepted a 2007 Ford F-150 truck and discovered four individuals hidden inside the tank, according to Border Report.
The agents had to use power tools to cut the container from the outside, as the migrants were trapped and had no way to open it from the inside.
In addition to the Cuban, there were two Bolivian citizens and one Colombian in the tank.
Once freed, the four declined medical attention and were transferred to the Uvalde South station for their immigration processing.
The driver of the van, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen, was handed over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and faces federal charges related to human trafficking.
Anthony "Scott" Good, chief of the Del Rio Sector Highway Patrol, described the method used to transport migrants as "dangerous and barbaric."
"Traffickers do not care about the safety of those they consider mere human cargo," Good stated. "Confining people in cramped spaces without the possibility of escape is dangerous and barbaric. If it weren't for the actions of our highly trained agents, this incident could have ended in tragedy."
The rescue adds to other cases recently recorded in that border area. On September 7, a canine unit of the Border Patrol detected three migrants locked in a freight train car in Uvalde County.
Days earlier, on August 30, another trained dog alerted agents to a closed car-hauler near Knippa, Texas. Inside, they found eight migrants, including a child.
The operations highlight the risks of the methods employed by trafficking networks to conceal individuals and the dangers that migrants face during these journeys.
There have been previously documented operations in Texas where more than a dozen migrants were found trapped in vehicles or other spaces used for their clandestine transportation.
The incident also occurs amid the ongoing risks faced by those attempting to enter the United States irregularly, including recently detained Cubans after crossing the border illegally.
Este caso forma parte de una realidad migratoria en constante cambio. Sigue toda la información sobre operativos fronterizos, rescates y políticas migratorias en nuestra sección de
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