Migrants aboard cargo trains from Mexico were stranded kilometers from the border with the United States

VILLA AHUMADA/PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Migrants were stranded in Mexico on Friday miles from the U.S. border after the freight train they were traveling on stopped abruptly, amid the ongoing suspension of dozens of northbound trains due to fears about migrants. security.

Hundreds of migrants were seen by a Reuters witness aboard a train stopped in a desert area near Villa Ahumada, about 123 kilometers (76.43 miles) from the border city of Ciudad Juarez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

“They’re treating us like animals,” said Sasha Pacheco, who was on the stopped train, surrounded by her family, including a baby.

“We are in a desert, there is only one tree… we are only an hour (from our destination), but it would take a day walking with a baby.

“Why would they take us if they are going to do this to us?” he asked her, adding that there were no options to take buses or taxis from their current location.

Sixty northbound freight trains operated by Mexico’s Ferromex were stopped last week after about half a dozen migrants were killed or injured. The company later said it restarted some routes where there was no known “increased risk.”

Banners on the side of the train stopped in Villa Ahumada read: “Thank you Ferromex,” placed by migrants who had initially been grateful that the trains had started the journey.

Grupo México, owner of Ferromex, could not immediately be contacted about the sudden stop of the train with migrants on board near Villa Ahumada.

Earlier in the day, a spokesperson said they had no additional updates to share on the exact number of trains that were still stopped.

“Concentrations of migrants continue to be monitored and trains move, ensuring the continuity of traffic, but avoiding high risks for people and operations,” they said.

Venezuelan migrant Marlon Vera, who had been traveling for two months, told Reuters that the train he was traveling on was stopped for several days before being stopped again near Villa Ahumada.

“We are here… without food, without water, facing the cold, the heat,” he said.

The train stoppage last week has caused about a billion dollars in assets get stuck at the border.

Meanwhile, further east, in the border town of Piedras Negras, across from Eagle Pass, Texas, Venezuelan migrant José Julián said Friday that he had also become stranded while traveling aboard freight trains.

He said he had boarded a freight train along with 2,000 other immigrants in Monterrey several days ago, but somewhere after Torreón, the train stopped.

“They left us in the middle of the desert,” he said, speaking on the banks of the Rio Grande. “They didn’t care if there were children.”

He said it took him 10 hours on foot to reach the next town and a total of three days to reach the border.

For years, migrants trying to reach the United States have traveled through Mexico on freight trains. Collectively, these trains are known as “La Bestia” (The Beast), because of the risks posed by rail travel.

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