Two humanitarian groups reported that the patrol destroyed water and food left for the dying and thirsty immigrants who just risked lives through the desert.
United States border patrol agents regularly destroy water and food supplies left in the Arizona desert for immigrants, worsening the living situation for those people who often died of thirst in baking temperatures, according to two humanitarian groups.
The agent is kicking to destroy water supply.
The two groups No More Deaths and La Coalición de Derechos Humanos released a report, revealing that water gallons have been sabotaged 415 times, on average twice a week, on average twice a week, along with the trail of the immigration in the desert, from March 2012 to December 2015.
The report said wildlife, hunters, hikers and other groups also damaged aid drops but it said the main damages are from border patrol.
The report said: 'Through statistical analysis, video evidence, and personal experience, our team has uncovered a disturbing reality. In the majority of cases, US border patrol agents are responsible for the widespread interference with essential humanitarian efforts.'
The report added that: 'The practice of destruction of and interference with aid is not the deviant behavior of a few rogue border patrol agents, it is a systemic feature of enforcement practices in the borderlands.'
FILE - This Oct. 26, 2017 file photo shows prototypes of border walls in San Diego. The Trump administration has proposed spending $18 billion over 10 years to significantly extend the border wall with Mexico. The plan provides one of the most detailed blueprints of how the president hopes to carry out a signature campaign pledge. (AP Photo/Elliott Spagat, File)
The damage has affected 3,586 gallons. What does that mean?
Border crossers should drink between five to 12 litres of water daily, but few manage to carry more than seven litres through a journey which can last several days or even weeks.
Over the last two decades, some 7,000 human remains have been recovered from the U.S. borderlands. In Pima County alone, hundreds of migrants die each year making the crossing.
FILE - In this June 22, 2016 file photo, a Border Patrol agent walks along a border structure in San Diego, Calif. The Trump administration has proposed spending $18 billion over 10 years to significantly extend the border wall with Mexico. The plan provides one of the most detailed blueprints of how the president hopes to carry out a signature campaign pledge. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
Although the spokesman of the patrol agent insisted 'We don’t want to see anyone out there die.' But a former agent admitted to the two humanitarian groups that destroying water supplies was a way to make migrants weaker and easier to find.
One former Border Patrol agent told the groups: 'I also remember that the logic behind that, the logic that was imparted to us with that action, was that you stomp on their water, and ransack their food cache, in order to expedite their apprehension.'
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Millions of faithful gathered to mark Mexico’s Virgin of Guadalupe Day, honoring the country’s patron saint. But calls by the Roman Catholic Church for a truce in Mexico's ongoing cartel violence apparently went unheeded as more dead bodies were found in the country on Thursday.
Enormous crowds gathered early in the day, singing the traditional Mexican birthday song “Las mañanitas” at Mexico City’s Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe to honor the virgin on the 493rd anniversary of her apparition in 1531.
Mariachi bands and traditional dance groups were also present at the basilica, which has a mix of modern and colonial-era architecture.
María Luisa Vázquez Mendoza, a 33-year-old homemaker, walked for 16 hours from the neighboring State of Mexico to visit the basilica on the capital's north side and give thanks “for another year of life, and that my family is alright.”
“You feel joy in your heart when you see the gates of the basilica so close,” said Vázquez Mendoza. “Your body relaxes completely. You don't feel pain or tiredness anymore.”
Earlier this week, the Mexican Council of Bishops wrote an editorial calling for “a halt to the armed violence and hostile statements.”
“In a country where violence has left painful wounds in families and polarization among the public, this is a proposal to reflect, and act in favor of reconciliation and human dignity,” the council wrote on a church website, Desde la Fe.
But in the north-central state of Guanajuato — which has the highest number of homicides of any of Mexico's 32 states — the day was possibly even more violent than usual.
Police and prosecutors said a total of 15 dead bodies were found on the streets in various cities in Guanajuato, warning the death toll may be higher. In one macabre location, a pile of human remains was discovered on a highway near the city of Salvatierra but authorities were still investigating how many victims it contained.
Local media said parts of hacked-up human bodies were left in black garbage bags in the back of a pickup truck with a banner signed by a drug cartel.
In Guanajuato in 2023 there were an average of 8.5 homicides a day, according to official figures.
Vázquez Mendoza said she hoped the call for truce might still influence people “to be a little more human, more conscious.”
Over 11 million worshippers had visited the Basilica in the days leading up to the annual celebration of Mexico's patroness, authorities said.
Many had walked from distant villages, others rode on bicycles or buses to reach the Basilica’s enormous patio, where a sea of tents held pilgrims who had slept overnight to greet the virgin in the morning.
The cold temperature, long walks and the wait to see the virgin’s cloak inside the Basilica did not discourage them. Many of the pilgrims walked the last mile or so carrying flowers or large paintings of the virgin.
According to church tradition, in 1531, the dark-skinned virgin appeared to the Indigenous peasant Juan Diego and her image was imprinted on his cloak, which is on display inside the church. Juan Diego was made a saint in 2002 by Pope John Paul II.
Traditionally, those who have asked for help from the Virgin of Guadalupe come in a sign of appreciation. Some, like street vendor Christofer Hernández, completed the last stretch to the Basilica barefoot or on their knees.
Arturo Rivas was one of 200 people who made the pilgrimage on bicycle from the nearby state of Tlaxacala, a ride of over 60 miles ( 100 kilometers).
“We are excited to come year after year,” Rivas said. “This is what our parents taught us.”
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
A statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe is silhouetted against a sunrise in one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Pilgrims camp in the plaza of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, in one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A pilgrim holds an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe outside the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe a day before her feast day in Mexico City, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Pilgrims sleep outside of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe a day before her feast day in Mexico City, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A pilgrim sleeps alongside his Our Lady of Guadalupe statue during one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages to Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Pilgrims gather outside of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, in one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
An image of the Virgin of Guadalupe and a Mexican flag adorn a car arriving at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe a day before her feast day in Mexico City, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Lit candles, left by pilgrims, blanket an area in the plaza of Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, during one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Pilgrims gather outside of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Pilgrims arrive to the Basilica de Guadalupe, paying a promise of devotion to the Our Lady of Guadalupe, on the virgin's feast day in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A pilgrim looks out from behind a Our Lady of Guadalupe statue during one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages to Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A pilgrim sleeps on the Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica plaza during one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages, marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A pilgrim visits Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica during one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A pilgrim poses for a photo just outside of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, during one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Pilgrims gather in the plaza of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, in one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Pilgrims gather outside of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe a day before her feast day in Mexico City, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
