The young Jonathan Betancourt Arenas, 34, drowned when he was crossing the Rio Grande, on the border between Mexico and the United States.
(Read: ‘El Hueco’ towards the United States, more dangerous than ever)
According to international media, the Colombian traveled with his wife and 7-year-old daughter to cross into the United States illegally. The family, originally from Villavicencio, started their transit on April 12; however, they had difficulty crossing the Rio Grande.
According to established information, Betancourt was carrying his daughters on his shoulders and managed to cross them to the US side of the border, but when he returned to help his wife he was swept away by the current of the Rio Grande.
(Also: The US speeds up the expulsion of Colombians detained at the border)
“My little hand, my friend, my advisor, my accomplice, my greatest connection, what we felt was always inexplicable, Only the two of us understood it, you are the greatest hero in the world, you were always there for me, fighter and dreamer without limits, ”said his sister Katherine.
The Rio Grande is one of the most dangerous areas of the border crossing between those countries, In the last two weeks, two other young Guatemalans and a United States guard who tried to help some people who were dragged by the current have died.
In the case of Betancourt, his body was swept away by the waters of the river around 2 pm on April 12 and his body disappeared for several days, until it was located by rescuers in the area.
Right now, Betancourt’s family is awaiting the repatriation of the young man’s body.
The illegal passage through this area, which is known as ‘El Hueco’, last year had the deadliest year in history for migrants seeking to fulfill the ‘American dream’.
According to official data from the US Border Patrol supplemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in 2021 more than 650 deaths of people trying to enter this country were documented, mostly through the southern border.
This is the highest number recorded since this type of measurement began. To put it in context, the average number of deaths between 2014 and 2020 was 300 people. In other words, last year there was an increase of one hundred percent compared to those statistics.
This year, Colombian Juan Carlos Rivera lost his life trying to illegally cross that border.
(Also: Death in the ‘hole’: the tragedy of Bogota crossing the US border)
ELTIEMPO.COM
#Colombian #drowned #crossing #border #United #States