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Migrants from Central America dispersed by the police at the US-Mexico border, November 25, 2018 (image for illustration). AFP / Guillermo Arias

Mexican police on Saturday arrested a group of suspected human traffickers carrying 175 Central American migrants in several vehicles in the state of Veracruz, after uncovering 99 other migrants earlier in the day.

The group of traffickers has been brought before the prosecutor, told AFP a source of the Mexican army. Another source from the federal police said the migrants were " heading to the United States ." A repatriation procedure was initiated against them.

Earlier Saturday, police discovered another 99 Central American migrants , mainly from Honduras and El Salvador, in the neighboring state of Tabasco, apparently abandoned in a truckload of goods. " Among them were 41 minors " without residence permits in Mexico detailed the secretariat to Public Security in a statement.

Migrant influx

Since October 2018, the United States has faced an influx of illegal migrants on its border with Mexico, which has tended to worsen relations between Washington and Mexico City.

In June, the United States threatened to impose tariffs on products imported from Mexico if the government of Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador did not put a stop to the arrival of migrants , originating in large majority of poor and violent countries in Central America, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras in the lead.

Under pressure, Mexico has deployed more than 21,000 soldiers: 6,000 on the southern border - where the majority of migrants arrive - and 15,000 on the northern border, at the 3,200-kilometer border that separates it from the United States. After tightening controls at the northern border, 82,000 people were arrested in July, down 21% from June.

( with AFP )