Confrontation with migrant traffickers and soldiers leaves two Colombians dead on the US-Mexico border.

( Spanish) – The Secretariat of National Defense of Mexico reported this Sunday that two Colombian migrants died and four more were injured after a confrontation between armed civilians and elements of the National Guard on a dirt road used as a migrant smuggling route near the border with the United States. .

The Mexican agency added that the events occurred this Saturday, when elements of the National Guard repelled an attack while patrolling the area of ​​La Rumorosa, Baja California, when they encountered two vehicles and were shot by firearms. .

After the confrontation, one of the vehicles escaped and in the other two people were killed, four more were injured, one more was unharmed – all of Colombian nationality – and a Mexican driving the vehicle was arrested.

In the statement, the Ministry of Defense added that after the incident three elements of the National Guard “who used their weapons during the events” were separated from their duties pending the corresponding investigations.

After the events, the Colombian Foreign Ministry confirmed the nationality of the migrant victims and identified the two dead as Yuli Vanessa Herrera Marulanda, 37 years old, and Ronaldo Andrés Quintero Peñuelas, 20 years old.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the Government of Colombia, regrets the acts of violence that occurred between Tijuana and Mexicali in Tecate, in the state of Baja California, where a group of migrants, including seven Colombians, were caught in an exchange of crossfire,” explained the Colombian Foreign Ministry in a press release.

“The other five Colombians were injured and were immediately transferred to the General Hospital of Mexico, where they receive medical attention,” the statement added.

“From the moment the incident became known, the Foreign Ministry, through its Consulate, has been in communication with the Mexican authorities to collect detailed information and ensure consular assistance to the victims and their families,” explained the Colombian Foreign Ministry in a press release,” the statement adds.