Mexico is the fifth most frequent origin of migrants who die on their journey

Mexico City.– Mexico ranks fifth in the world as the country of origin of migrants who die during their journey from one country to another, according to an IOM report that covers the period from 2014 to 2023.

According to a report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) released this Tuesday, at least 1,048 Mexicans died in that period during their journey, 167 of them in 2023.

The countries with the highest number of dead migrants in that 10-year period were Afghanistan, with 3,471; Myanmar, with 2,202; Ethiopia, with 1,565, and Syria, with 1,270.

The report A Decade Documenting Migrant Deaths reports 37,060 deaths and 26,186 disappearances in the period.

The main cause of deaths worldwide is drowning, with more than 36 thousand cases.

“The vast majority of drowning deaths occurred in the Mediterranean, with more than 28,000 total recorded, but thousands have also died attempting the Atlantic route (4,126), the border crossing between the United States and Mexico (5,213), the crossing the Gulf of Aden between the Horn of Africa and Yemen (1,031) and on routes from the Caribbean to the United States (539)”, the IOM states.

Meanwhile, deaths due to violence totaled 2,322 between 2021 and 2023 and 2,040 between 2014 and 2020.

“The increase in violent deaths is largely due to increasing reports of deaths on the Yemen-Saudi border since 2022 (1,267), but also include many murders in the Sahara Desert (712) and on the borders between “Afghanistan and Iran (287), Syria and Turkey (208), and the United States and Mexico (170),” the report details.

More than two-thirds of the migrants killed worldwide, warned Ugochi Daniels, IOM Deputy Director General of Operations, remain unidentified.

“Despite the numerous lives lost whose identities remain unknown, we know that almost 5,500 women have died on migratory routes during the last ten years and the number of identified minors is almost 3,500,” he said when presenting the report in Geneva.

“The toll on vulnerable populations and their families urges us to turn attention to data into concrete action.”

The United States Customs and Border Control (CBP) reported that the number of migrants in danger rescued in the border area with Mexico increased from 4,921 in fiscal year 2019 to 37,324 in fiscal year 2023.

“To prevent the loss of life, CBP initiated a Missing Migrant Program in 2017 that locates non-citizens reported missing, rescues people in danger, and reunites the remains of the deceased with their families in the border region,” he explained.