US-MEXICO BORDER, April 1 (Reuters) – After her husband survived a fire that left nearly 40 migrants dead at a detention center in northern Mexico, Venezuelan Viangly Infante crossed into the United States on Saturday in search of asylum and a new opportunity for her three children.
The family is the first to receive help from the US government after the fire that killed 39 migrants from Central America, Colombia and Venezuela.
Earlier, Eduard Caraballo, Infante’s husband, was taken by ambulance from a hospital in Ciudad Juárez, where he was admitted, to a health center in El Paso (Texas), where he remains on oxygen due to lung damage.
“The torment is over,” confessed Infante, 31, on the verge of tears, as she walked to the vehicle that took her to a migrant shelter. In her arms she had her daughter who was less than two years old and, next to her, her sons who were 12 and 13 years old.
“I am very happy and grateful to the United States government because it kept its word to help Eduard,” she said.
At the beginning of October, fleeing from the acute crisis that is plaguing Venezuela, the family headed for the United States. On their long and dangerous journey they crossed the Darién Gap, a jungle region that separates Colombia from Panama known for being one of the most impassable and dangerous in Latin America.
Before the new year the family arrived in Ciudad Juárez. But after multiple attempts, only Caraballo, the father, obtained an asylum appointment through the CBP One application, recently enabled by the US government to order irregular migration.
At the end of February Caraballo arrived in the United States but returned shortly after after his youngest daughter fell ill. Despite the fact that he said that he had the documentation to remain legally in Mexico, he was detained last week and he was transferred to the detention center where he nearly suffocated to death.
On Monday night, a fire broke out in a detention center of the National Institute of Migration (INM). Among the deceased are migrants from Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Venezuela.
Authorities have arrested five people for the event, including INM members, a private security agent, and a Venezuelan migrant accused of starting the fire. In addition, they closed the place, described by users, as a “prison”.
Days after the tragedy occurred, the US government announced that it would help the families of those affected.
Fleeing violence and poverty at home, thousands of migrants cross Mexico each year with the intention of reaching the United States. However, many lose their lives during the journey, others are deported upon reaching their destination, and fewer achieve their mission.
In recent years, more and more people from South America have joined the numbers of migrants en route to the United States. The crisis that Venezuela is going through has forced more than seven million people to leave their country. Most have landed in Latin America but they also seek to reach the United States.
“At some point I thought we would not make it, but thanks to the help of God and the organizations we are here,” Infante told Reuters. (Edited by Diego Oré)
Source: Ambito
