Migrants set fire to a camp overnight in a camp in northern Mexico By Reuters

Written by Jose Luis Gonzalez

CHIHUAHUA, Mexico (Reuters) – Migrants trying to evade arrest set fire to blankets and mattresses in a camp north of the Mexican city of Chihuahua during an attack by government forces to clear the area early on Saturday.

The crackdown near the US border comes ahead of the inauguration on Monday of US President-elect Donald Trump, who has accused the Mexican government of not doing enough to stop immigration to the US and threaten large fees.

About 250 Mexican officers, including National Guard military police in riot gear, surrounded the camp around midnight, according to a Reuters witness. .

Migrants started burning mattresses and blankets in protest, the witness said, and tried to leave the site with babies and belongings.

No deaths or injuries were reported in the fire, which was extinguished in less than an hour.

Mexico’s immigration agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An immigration official, who was not authorized to speak to reporters, told Reuters that the goal of the operation was to bring the migrants to Mexico’s southern border, where they would be told to return to their countries. .

It was not clear how many people were arrested.

Most of the 150 migrants were Venezuelan families staying at a camp in the city of Chihuahua, about 220 miles (360 km) from the border city of Ciudad Juarez across from El Paso, Texas, while they are heading north to the US.

A Venezuelan migrant, Daniel Barrios, who was traveling with a woman carrying a baby on her back and a child with a shiny blue bag, said they were surprised by the sudden presence of the police.

“They’re around the camp … they’re just asking to talk, that they’re going to do a test and all that,” he said.

“ Tell (WA:) me, does it make sense to bring all this police and the army, who are supposed to inspect the camp, if they don’t do it during the day?”

Barrios cut off his thoughts when he saw the officials in the distance, saying, “We have to move.”

One family that fled the camp said they were confused and scared. A woman cried as she held two children close to her, and two men were combing the small children, as red smoke rose into the air behind them.

“The police have come, and immigration officials. We arrived at this shelter today, and we don’t know what’s going on,” said one of the men. “We’re confused. We’re scared.”