Thousands of Mexicans displaced by the violence generated by organized crime have left the west of the country to reach the Tijuana border, where they seek to enter the United States to obtain asylum and humanitarian aid.

Recent migratory flows such as that of Ukrainians and Haitians have not made this situation visible, according to activists, who warn of a “very serious” problem in states such as Michoacan where the violence of the drug cartels has intensified.

“There are many family groups in which mothers, fathers and up to four children come with them. They continue with this situation because the violence has not ended in some regions and because they continue with the hope of being able to cross,” he told José María García Lara, director of the Movimiento Juventud 2000 association.

In Mexico there is a historical record of more than 356 thousand people internally displaced by violence, with almost 10 thousand of them in 2020, according to the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (CMDPDH).

The amount

Michoacan authorities reported that, according to their statistics, for a year and a half they have arrived in Tijuana about 4 thousand 500 displaced only from that state, but local associations that receive migrants said that they count more than 15 thousand during the same period.

García Lara explained that since 2021 Tijuana has received “a large community of displaced people due to extreme violence generated by organized crime”.

This contrasts with the statements made by the Governor of Michoacán, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, who last month during a visit to Tijuana stated that “the vast majority of migrants left because of gender violence or violence against women.”

The displaced in shelters in Tijuana said they left their homes because the cartels threatened them, killed or kidnapped a family member, or charged them fees in exchange for work.

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