Mexican Catholic bishops condemn killing of 6 migrants by soldiers

MEXICO CITY, Mexico - A group of Mexican Catholic bishops on Thursday condemned the killing two days earlier of six migrants by Mexican soldiers in the country's south, and the bishops called for an investigation into the incident.

Six migrants died and 10 were injured in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas on Tuesday after soldiers fired on the pick-up truck they were traveling in.

A statement from a migration-focused subgroup of the Mexican Episcopal Conference said the group "emphatically rejects the disproportionate use of lethal force by agents of the state."

"The Mexican state is obligated to conduct a serious, impartial and effective investigation," the statement said.

The victims were from Egypt, El Salvador and Peru, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said.

The deaths have raised more questions about the growing role of the military in Mexico's policy toward migrants.

"This tragedy arises not as an isolated event, but as a consequence of the militarization of migration policy and an increased presence of armed forces on the southern border of the country, which has been a constant," the bishops group said.

The U.S. has been pressuring Mexico to reduce the number of migrants arriving at the border, where record numbers of people have tried to cross in recent years, fleeing economic hardship and violence.

"It's a regrettable event and it must be investigated and punished," Sheinbaum said at a Thursday morning press conference.

She said the attorney general's office was investigating the incident but did not say whether any action had already been taken against the soldiers.

"A situation like this cannot be repeated," she added.

Mexico's defense ministry said soldiers opened fire after the pick-up truck carrying 33 migrants tried to evade a military patrol.

The defense ministry said soldiers reported hearing explosions before the officers opened fire.

On Wednesday, Peru's foreign ministry condemned the killings in a statement that said its government would demand Mexican authorities "carry out an urgent investigation to clarify and determine the responsibilities of this reprehensible act."

El Salvador's president's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Egypt's embassy in Mexico told Reuters it did not have information to share regarding the incident.

A security crisis has been growing in the southern Mexican region near the Guatemalan border, where a territorial battle between powerful drug cartels has led to a sharp increase in violence over the last year. — Reuters