US election: the cartels and the border

For years, Donald Trump has weaponised migrant arrivals from Mexico for his campaign for US president. But this year, Democrats passed tough new laws allowing more deportations, and crossings are now at their lowest since President Biden took office.

Migrants in Mexico can now use an app to book an appointment to enter the US legally. The record numbers coming into Mexico from other Latin American countries are now choosing to stay in urban areas, like the capital Mexico City, where they can find work, rather than camp out at the border waiting to cross.

But that’s only half the story. People we spoke to told us it’s fear that keeps them from traveling north. A campaign of cartel violence has seen migrants kidnapped and held for ransom. Anyone with contacts in the US becomes more valuable, meaning those with appointments are worth even more to the gangs.

The beast

We took the legendary freight train The Beast, which runs from Mexico’s south to its north. For years this was a major route taking migrants to the US border, but now only a few are braving the journey.

Among them were Pancho and Diana, who boarded the train with us near Guanajuato in Central Mexico. They fled with their young children from Venezuela, after being threatened with death over the elections this year.

They narrowly escaped the cartels once before, paying them off to escape, but not before they’d threatened to rape their daughter.

“They don’t care if you have money on you or not. Their only concern is that you find a way to pay them,” says Diana.

As we travel north, sitting on top of the freight train, we pass through cartel territory. An ongoing gang war has meant that the cartels have become more ruthless, killing as well as kidnapping. The train is theoretically less dangerous than the roads, where the cartel frequently stop buses and large groups travelling north demanding payment.

But when we stop in the middle of nowhere, the group becomes deathly afraid.

Pancho pulls out a knife and stares out at the countryside, trying to spot the danger. Everyone on board knows how serious the cartel threat is. Eventually the train gets moving again.

Ghost town

When we make it to the border, the once-bustling Reynosa is now a ghost town. At the Senza de Vida shelter for migrants there’s just a dozen or so waiting for their appointment to cross. It’s a far cry from the thousands it used to hold.

Even here, just metres from the US border, they can’t let anyone leave the shelter for fear of being kidnapped. The iron gates surrounding it are bolted shut to keep out the cartel.

It all makes for a scene of almost surreal quiet on what has been one of the busiest borders in the world.

Despite what politicians may say as the electioneering ramps up, it’s the violence migrants are encountering that’s made it this way.

Written by Sachin Croker