Central Mexico
The states in this part of the route are: Veracruz, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Estado de Mexico, Queretaro, and San Luis Potosi. Once migrants reach the state of Veracruz, the route takes two different paths: one moves north to Tamaulipas, and the other moves towards the center of the country. This path leading to central Mexico has been described as a passing route. Migrants do not settle in these states for long periods of time. This part of the route has been identified as a highly problematic area for human trafficking. Human trafficking is found in several states.
Veracruz
Central Americans who entered Mexico from the states of Chiapas and Tabasco converge to the state of Veracruz as they move north. In Veracruz, railroad lines coming from Oaxaca and Tabasco merge. In the train stations of Veracruz, migrants choose whether to move to Tamaulipas or to continue following the railroad towards the state of Mexico.
The route converges in the city of Medias Aguas. Before reaching Medias Aguas, migrants, most of whom are coming from Tabasco, transit through the city of Coatzacoalcos. The majority of our fieldwork in Veracruz took place in Coatzacoalcos. It was challenging to conduct research in Veracruz, as there were significant obstacles to accessing relevant information and data. The security measures taken by the migrant shelter in Coatzacoalcos are so strict that the location of the shelter is hardly known to the public.
Transiting in Veracruz is very difficult for migrants. Experts told us that from 2009 to 2011, it is possible that migrants were victims of human trafficking in the state. However, it is unclear if that has been the case since then. When the Zetas had a stronger presence in the state, there was a higher incidence of migrants allegedly being coerced to act as cartels’ hitmen and lookouts. As the Zetas have currently kept a low profile, no signs of human trafficking for forced criminal activities are evident in Veracruz.
Nevertheless, migration experts still report the presence of TCOs, such as the Zetas and the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel, in the state. Organized criminal groups who have infiltrated the local and state governments, are the biggest threat for migrants. Criminal infiltration in the government allows cartels to exert de facto control over railroad tracks used by migrants. In Veracruz, hydrocarbon pipelines run parallel to train tracks, increasing the interest of organized criminal organizations in controlling railroads.
Migration experts in Veracruz have noted that migrants have increasingly used buses to transit through the state. They informed us that migrants who board buses usually pay coyotes to ensure that they will not be apprehended by immigration agents on the road. Furthermore, bus drivers have connections with corrupted migration officers. Female migrants arriving in Coatzacoalcos primarily utilize the buses. Traveling by bus is more expensive than traveling on freight trains.
Experts told us that currently there are no official cases of human trafficking involving migrants. Nevertheless, some experts reiterated that organized criminal organizations are involved in forced prostitution and labor exploitation of Central American women in Veracruz, especially in the area of Coatzacoalcos. It is common to find migrant women working as domestic servants near the bus station. It is valid to note that between 2015 and 2016 there has not been evidence of compelled labor for criminal activities in Veracruz, even though the presence of organized crime in the state is significant.
Puebla
Migrants arrive to Puebla by a train that departs from Orizaba, Veracruz. A support network consisting of migrant advocates from Puebla and Tlaxcala, including universities, civil association and the church, helped built Puebla’s migrant shelter. Experts on migration told us that the number of migrants using Puebla’s shelter has decreased. Migrants believe that the shelter is working in collusion with criminal networks operating begging rings in the city, and thus are actively avoiding the shelter. Migration activists try to reach out to migrants near train tracks, but railroad private security personnel have been hostile to them.
An expert we interviewed in Puebla asserted that organized crime is present in the state. According to him, the Zetas are located in eastern Puebla, the Sinaloa Cartel to the west, near the state border with Morelos, and the Knights Templar and La Familia Michoacana operate in and around San Martin. He mentioned that the migration route used by Central Americans runs parallel to smuggling, drug and organ trafficking routes.
Experts in Puebla affirmed that human trafficking takes place in the state. Moreover, they stated that the Zetas were behind it. Some of them alleged that the Zetas coerce locals and migrants to perform criminal activities for them, especially drug trafficking. Others believe that young people are voluntarily choosing to stay in Mexico to work as lookouts for cartels. Organized crime in Puebla demand payment from coyotes in order to let them transit through territory they claim. One interviewee claimed that organ trafficking is taking place in the state. He said that criminal groups demand coyotes to surrender at least one migrant to them in order to transit through cartel-controlled territory. He stated that cartels harvest the organs of kidnapped migrants. This claim has not been corroborated.
In Puebla City, a criminal network operates near the train stations where migrants arrive. They offer jobs to attractive female migrants. Migrant women who start working as prostitutes tend to stay in the state. Most of the women arriving in Puebla are Honduran. Women from El Salvador often have relatives in the United States that send them money, making it easier for them to keep moving north. There are not many Guatemalan women in Puebla. Guatemalan migrants usually settle in southern Mexico instead of moving north.
Tlaxcala
After Veracruz, the next stop in the migrant route is Apizaco, in the state of Tlaxcala. Media outlets have often reported on human trafficking cases taking place in Tlaxcala. Cases of human traffickers moving victims from Tlaxcala to the United States are numerous.
The migrant route, following the freight train tracks, leads to Apizaco. As a transit point in the route, the city of Apizaco does not have a significant migrant population. Nevertheless, human trafficking for sexual labor is a widespread practice in the state. Most of human trafficking victims in Tlaxcala are Mexican women rather than foreign migrants.
Tlaxcala has a long history of families operating human trafficking and smuggling rings, but there are differences between trafficking targeting Mexicans in Tlaxcala and trafficking targeting foreigners along the migration route. Experts said that victims of human trafficking in Tlaxcala usually come from small towns in the state. Other victims come from the states of Oaxaca, San Luis Potosí and Guadalajara. Mexican victims can be found working in local bars and brothels, while others are moved to the United States to be sexually exploited there.
Experts studying human trafficking in the state of Tlaxcala have explained to us the modus operandi of local traffickers. Young men belonging to trafficking rings seduce local women, and they eventually convince their victims that they should live together. Finally, the traffickers suggest that the women should find employment to help with household’s finances. This is how they are convinced to work in local bars and nightclubs. Most women end up being sold to bar and club owners, who force them into prostitution. Human traffickers charge their victims for expenses such as housing, food, clothing, and protection, leading to unpayable debt. These human trafficking networks are believed to operate across the country. Traffickers frequently move their victims to different cities.
Unlike Mexican human trafficking victims, prostitution networks bring their Central American victims to Tlaxcala. The networks move these women in from the areas of the country where they were originally abducted. A researcher we interviewed in Apizaco told us that the Zetas control a trafficking network of women, but they do not follow the same modus operandi of the Tlaxcala rings. Some Central Americans become human trafficking victims after failing to pay cartels for safe passage. Others are promised employment in Mexico by their coyotes, and are then forced into sex servitude once they arrive in the country. The Apizaco migrant shelter staff told us that they had not heard of any human trafficking cases from migrants staying there.
Currently, there is no sign of human trafficking for criminal activities occurring in Tlaxcala. From 2009 to 2011, according to interviewees in Apizaco, the Zetas were present in the city. Until 2012, there were reports that the Zetas charged other criminal groups to operate in territories they controlled in the state. Currently, it is not clear if criminals claiming to be the Zetas and operating in Tlaxcala indeed belong to the cartel. The Zetas are known for their violent modus operandi, which has been absent in Tlaxcala since 2012.
Estado de Mexico
From Tlaxcala, the train travels to Tultitlán, in the state of Mexico. The train station there is located in Lechería. At Lechería train station, migrants can board a train that will take them close to the border with Laredo, Texas. The station has become a focal point for Central American migrants on their journey north, with hundreds of migrants arriving daily. The migrant corridor from Lechería to Atitalaquia in the state of Hidalgo, is known as the “devil’s passage.”
The high concentration of migrants near Lechería’s train tracks has stirred controversy among Mexican locals. Many locals blame migrants for what they perceive to be an increase in the municipality’s crime and poverty rates. Hostility towards migrants is more noticeable in neighborhoods surrounding the train station, increasing the vulnerability of migrants arriving in the city. Migrant advocates estimate that only one out of ten migrants that reach Lechería are female. The number of unaccompanied minors is even smaller. Due to the risks posed by illegally boarding freight trains, female migrants prefer to use alternative methods of transportation. When they can afford it, they usually travel by bus. Some women decide to stay and work in cities for longer periods in order to save money for the journey north.
The hostile environment towards migrants in Lechería makes the work of migrant advocates in the city more difficult. In 2009, the Catholic Church opened a migrant shelter near the train station. As the shelter only provided aid and food to migrants, impoverished locals grew resentful. In July 2012, after facing significant opposition and pressure from locals, the Church closed down the shelter.
A new shelter was eventually established in Huehuetoca, a municipality located 30 km north of Lechería. However, the freight train does not come to a full stop at Huehuetoca. Thus, boarding and disembarking the train in Huehuetoca is a significantly more dangerous endeavor than it is in Lechería. Migrants in Huehuetoca also face hostilities and distrust from locals. On July 21, 2012, the shelter was shot at least five times. A group that identifies itself as the Maras has made numerous threats to the shelter staff and in one occasion criminals broke into the shelter, leading to its temporary closure. In January 2013, the facility reopened. Other attacks followed later in that year.
Currently, violence levels in the state of Mexico are high. In 2014, severe violence and recurring night shootings occurred in Lechería and its surrounding areas. Organized crime groups are present along the train tracks and in the areas where migrants wait for the train. Experts have identified the Lechería-Bojay corridor as a “terror territory reproducing a model in Mexico filled with murder, disappearances and kidnappings.”
In the state of Mexico, criminal organizations, common criminals, and state agents target and abuse migrants. According to experts, the cartels “Caballeros Templarios” (Knights Templar), the “Zetas,” “La Familia Michoacana”, and “Jalisco Nueva Generación” are present in Huehuetoca. The Maras also operate in the state extorting migrants. The Maras are connected with Mexican criminal groups. According to experts, current Mexico’s severe policies to curb migration have benefited organized crime. Tougher policies, such as “Plan Frontera Sur,” have made it harder for migrants to transit Mexico, increasing migrants’ demand for clandestine migration routes.
In our stay in Mexico, we came in contact with a number of cases of human trafficking victims. The abuses they suffered ranged from sexual and labor exploitation, to compelled labor for criminal activities. In two testimonies, the victims described being targeted by human trafficking rings that were not directly operated by TCOs. Another victim was a former member of the Guatemalan military’ special forces, known as the Kaibiles. He had been recruited by a Mexican TCO to provide its members with military training. One migrant, who claimed to have used Mexico’s migration routes eleven times in hopes to reach the United States, described being victim of labor exploitation at an Oaxaca hotel.
Human trafficking and anti-human trafficking efforts in the state of Mexico continue to be a problematic issue. Experts often complain that the government does not provide adequate anti-human trafficking training to officials and law enforcement agents in charge of persecuting and prosecuting trafficking. Most of the experts blame the ambiguous text of the 2012 General Law to Prevent, Sanction, and Eradicate the Crimes in Matters of Human Trafficking and to Protect and Assist the Victims as one of the main reasons why anti-trafficking efforts in Mexico have not been effective. Experts complain that only a small fraction of crimes involving human trafficking is ever properly reported. When asked about the involvement of TCOs in human trafficking, most of the experts agreed that TCOs are involved, but that they do not play a prominent role. Human trafficking rings in Mexico are linked to families and local groups with decades-long involvement with crime.
Queretaro
In our interviews, numerous migrant advocates expressed concerns with the safety of migrants in the state of Queretaro. Due to Queretaro’s central and privileged location, connecting all corners of the country, many businesses and companies have established facilities there. Once considered a relative safe and calm place, there has been a spike in violence against migrants in the state in recent years. There has also been an increased number of cartels’ safe houses in the state. According to local migrant activists, officials are aware of the locations of many safe houses, but prefer not to intervene.
In the city of Queretaro, the local migrant shelter operates in an abandoned train station. In the past, the company responsible of train operations in Mexico attempted to remove the shelter from the station, but both parties have since settled. In our interviews in Tequisquiapan, Queretaro, local migrant advocates told us that private security guards working in trains are a cause of concern. We were told about an incident in which private security agents, working as an auxiliary force for the state of Mexico, threatened and physically assaulted shelter staff and migrants. Security guards allegedly shot migrants who were trying to board a train.
San Luis Potosi
San Luis Potosi is a very important stop along the migrant route. There, migrants face a less hostile reception and are closer to reaching the United States. Moreover, effective state government and law enforcement operations have decreased the presence of criminal organizations in the state.
According to local migrant activists, Hondurans are the most assisted group of migrants in San Luis Potosi. Although the train is still one of the ways used by migrants to reach the city, increased difficulty to board trains pushed migrants to spend more time travelling on foot and in trucks. Those who can afford, take conventional means of transportation, such as buses. One expert we interviewed observed that migrants arriving in San Luis Potosi often have health complications caused by their poor traveling conditions.