A route through the center of Mexico, from close to Mexico City up to Coahuila on the US border, has become an increasingly risky path for migrants passing through the country, according to a report by El Universal.
The newspaper maps out the new high-risk route, which starts in Tlaxcala state, and passes through Mexico State, Hidalgo, Guanajuato, and San Luis Potosi, and reaches the border in the northern state of Coahuila.
These states, which were not traditionally the site of attacks against migrants, have become a new zone of operations for criminal groups seeking to kidnap, extort, or assault this vulnerable group, according to the report.
Though El Universal says that this is a new development which has taken place since September, InSight Crime reported in April that a similar route, passing through Mexico City, San Luis de Potosi, and Saltillo, Coahuila, was one of the two most dangerous migration routes in the country. See both maps below.
View InSight Map: The Dangerous Journey North for Migrants in a larger map
Mexican authorities share a large part of the blame for these attacks; a representative of the National Commission of Human Rights (CNDH) told the paper that authorities are involved in 8.9 percent of reported abuses against this group.
El Universal also reports that the cost of the trip across the US border has increased to $11,000 per migrant. This would represent a significant rise; previous reports have put the price at between $2,000 and $3,500.