Mexico officials discovered more than 600 migrants crammed inside shipping containers hauled by trailer trucks near the U.S.-Mexico border crossing late Thursday.

The said discovery was made by Mexico's National Guardsmen, running a checkpoint on the Victoria-Monterey national expressway, The Daily Mail reported.

The said migrants were reported crammed inside six shipping containers hauled by three trailer trucks. The discovery stemmed out when onsite Federal Migration Agents heard voices coming out from one of the containers, prompting the officials to utilize an x-ray that confirmed the presence of the illegal immigrants.

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Following the discovery, the trucks were pulled over on a highway located in the northern Gulf coast of Tamaulipas, The Guardian reported.

The said location is 220 miles south of McAllen, Texas.

Reports indicated that four arrests were made by the authorities with charges of human smuggling, but it was not clear if the said individuals were the smugglers.

Migrants on Containers Towed by Trailer Trucks

The said trailer trucks had padlocks on them, prompting the officials to transport the vehicles to state police facilities to cut them open.

AT least 652 migrants were discovered in the six containers, with the majority of individuals from Central America. The 652 were composed of 564 Guatemalans, 28 Nicaraguans, 39 Hondurans, 20 Salvadorans, and one Brazilian.

It was also reported that 198 among the 652 migrants are unaccompanied children.

Officers described that the migrants were crammed inside the containers, huddled close together on the floor. Authorities furthered that nearly all the illegal immigrants discovered were wearing face masks.

Most of the migrants in the trailer trucks complained about the lack of food and water, as well as the rising heat inside the containers. Moreover, all migrants were treated by Red Cross and were transported to a migrant center in Tamaulipas where their legal status will be reviewed.

The migrants were also tested for COVID-19 on Friday, which identified at least nine came out positive for the disease. Officials assured that only mild symptoms were seen among those who tested positive.

U.S. Officials Meet With Mexico Over Border Deal

The intervention of the Central American migrants happened as the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Department of Homeland and Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Attorney General Merrick Garland met with Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, to discuss the 13-year-old agreement or Merida Initiative, between the United States and Mexico, which was considered unsuccessful.

Blinken said that the new agreement between Mexico and the U.S. would focus on "root drivers" of problems on both nations such as public health, corruption, inclusive economic opportunities, and climate change.

Mayorkas furthered that the new agreement will also concentrate on issues such as illegal drug trafficking and border crossing as the deal would focus on the "underlying reasons why they continue to exist.

"We are open to cooperate for development, to work together, and to be respectful of our sovereignties," Lopez Obrador said, adding that the new agreement will construct a "new era" on the relationship between U.S. and Mexico.

Despite announcing the new agreement that would replace the Merida initiative, none of the officials disclosed the specifics of the new agreement, including when it might be reached.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

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