Oaxaca.- A week after the bus accident that caused the death of 16 migrants on the border between Oaxaca and Puebla, state authorities closed nine illegal ticket sales points that offered foreigners in transit bus trips to Mexico City, state authorities reported.
These nine “irregular terminals” are located in Oaxaca and from them numerous tours left this route with tourist buses or without the permits to make such trips.
According to the state government, these transportation companies lacked legal documentation for their operation, did not offer users travel insurance, provided service with motor units in inadequate mechanical conditions, and overexploited bus drivers.
The operation was carried out in various points of the city of Oaxaca de Juárez, such as those located on the corner of Húzares and Periférico streets, Eduardo Mata street on the corner of Periférico, and Periférico on the corner of Central Avenue.
The closed establishments belong to the transport companies Aubiasis, Motse, Viajeag, San Gabriel travel agency, Transporte Oaxaca-Chiapas, Viaje Alegría, Auyati parcel service, Lula and Viaje Terra.
After detecting its irregular operation, an inter-institutional operation was deployed in which 60 security elements, the state and municipal police and the National Guard participated.
This operation was carried out after the Oaxacan government reported the creation of a registry of companies that are authorized to transport migrants who cross state territory to reach the United States. This registry is in charge of the federal Ministry of Communications and Transportation.
Given this, the authorities reported that the operations are being carried out in different municipalities that have been identified with the presence of migrants. According to the Government Secretariat (Segob), the objective is to avoid “situations that represent a risk for foreigners during their stay in the state.”
Along with these operations, Edgar Gandarillas, director of Segob management, reported that the company that owned the bus in which 16 foreigners died in transit was removed from the Migratory Mobility Center operated by state and federal authorities in San Sebastián Tutla until the investigations are concluded.
This is the company Eco Enlace, which the official confirmed stopped providing the service from the moment of the accident. In addition, he reported that the bus driver, arrested a day after the accident, is still under judicial process, while the company has already started paying insurance to the families and victims of the accident.
For now, there are only three companies that are authorized to provide transportation services to Mexico City for migrants: Autobuses de Oriente (ADO), FyPSA and a tourism company.
According to a newspaper count carried out by Latinus, during 2023 alone, 34 migrants have died in three bus accidents in Oaxacan territory, all on the highway that connects the state with Mexico City.
Source: Latinus
