United States – A Texan tries to pass two migrants in a coffin

– A Texan tries to smuggle two migrants into a coffin

A Texan has admitted trying to smuggle two Mexican migrants into the United States in a coffin covered with an American flag, similar to those of fallen soldiers, American justice announced on Tuesday.

Published: 26.01.2022, 23:59—

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Zachary Blood, 33, was driving a van “modified to carry coffins” on October 26 when he reached a Border Patrol checkpoint in South Texas, the district attorney’s office said in a statement Wednesday. Federal Jennifer Lowery.

Officers spotted a coffin in the back of the van and asked Zachary Blood what it was carrying, to which he replied, “A dead guy, a Navy guy.” “However, the casket was in poor condition and the American flag was tied on top with packing tape,” the statement said. Conducting a more thorough search, the officers then discovered “two Mexican nationals, both present illegally in the United States, hidden inside the coffin”.

The two men admitted to crossing the Rio Grande River to reach the United States and then paying the smuggler who was to take them to the large Texas city of San Antonio. Zachary Blood faces up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

More than two million arrests of migrants who entered the United States illegally at the border with Mexico took place during the year 2021, according to official statistics, a record high. Migration flows, which fell sharply at the start of the pandemic, had started to increase again before Joe Biden took office a year ago, but clearly jumped afterwards.

AFP

Published: 26.01.2022, 23:59

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