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Bold Smuggling Attempt at US-Mexico Border

Victoria Macchi

   WASHINGTON - The attempt to smuggle more than 70 people from Mexico
   into Texas this week was bold: A driver pulled a tractor-trailer into
   the commercial vehicle inspection lanes at a U.S. Border Patrol
   checkpoint in Laredo, and waited for agents to check the truck.

   From a photo released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there was
   little else in the trailer except for dozens of people huddled against
   a metal-clad wall, heads turned to avoid the camera or the bright light
   shined at them.

   Most of those visible in the picture were wearing white shirts, which
   [1]CBP says were marked by the smugglers "to assist the trafficking
   organization in classifying/identifying the individuals within the
   group."

   It is unclear what the markings were, and what they signified. A
   request to CBP for more information was not immediately returned on
   Wednesday. The story will be updated with the agency's response.

   The group was comprised of men and women from El Salvador, Guatemala
   and Mexico who entered the United States without authorization,
   according to CBP.

   The driver, a U.S. citizen, was arrested, as were the people found in
   the trailer.

   While many migrants attempt to cross the border into the U.S. on foot
   to remain undetected, that often requires swimming across the river or
   traversing remote, rugged desert areas where deaths by drowning and
   dehydration regularly occur.
   

References

   Visible links
   1. https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/border-patrol-discovers-large-human-smuggling-attempt

   Hidden links:
   2. file://localhost/usa/2019-among-deadliest-years-migrants-trekking-us

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