Officials: Honduran migrant teens killed in Mexico

MEXicO citY: The bodies of two slain Honduran migrant youths were found in the Mexican border city of Tijuana at the weekend, officials said, in a sign of the dangers facing Central Americans in Mexico as they seek to enter the United States.

The prosecutors’ office in Tijuana said in a statement on Tuesday it was investigating the deaths of the two youths, who showed signs of having been stabbed and strangled.

The victims were believed to be about 16 or 17 years old, the office said.

The victims, who were staying at a shelter for migrant youths in Tijuana, were headed to another shelter when they were intercepted by people who apparently intended to rob them, it said.

A third boy survived.

The incident did not appear to be related to organised crime, said Jorge Alvarez Mendoza, a prosecutor in Tijuana.

Thousands of Central American migrants have reached Tijuana in recent months hoping to gain entry to the United States. Many have been waiting in Mexico while they seek asylum under a system known as “metering,” which limits how many can apply each day.

Mexico and the United States have been discussing the possibility of returning Central American migrants to Mexico from the United States while their asylum claims are processed.

The proposal has been widely criticised by rights groups who say keeping asylum seekers in Mexico’s border towns puts them in danger.

Alden Rivera, the Honduran ambassador to Mexico, said the teens were from Honduras and that the attack happened on Saturday.

“At the moment, all we can say is that the three boys were taken to a place,” said Rivera.

“Two of them were brutally murdered and one of them is a survivor of the incident, who is being protected by Mexican authorities.”

He said he did not know why the Honduran government was not notified until Monday and said Honduras had urged Mexican officials to deepen their investigation into the crime.

“The conditions in which the murder of the two youths occurred are really terrible,” Rivera said.

“We are truly dismayed by everything that has happened.” —

The conditions in which the murder of the two youths occurred are really terrible. Alden Rivera