Mexico now amasses nearly 15,000 troops at U.S. border

Mexico has now deployed almost 15,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the country’s Secretary of Defense Luis Sandoval.

“In the northern part of the country, we have deployed a total of almost 15,000 troops composed of National Guard elements and military units,” Sandoval announced Monday in Cancun.

Over the weekend in Ciudad Juarez, Mexican National Guardsmen were visible in turning back migrants trying to cross the border. The guardsmen could be seen patrolling along the Rio Grande with assault rifles.

Meantime, approximately 2,000 National Guard members have already been deployed to Mexico’s southern border with Belize and Guatemala, Sandoval noted, adding to the 4,500 troops already spread across the area. Many migrants begin their journey in Central America and even further south, passing through Mexico on their way toward the United States.

The deployments come after renewed pressure from the Trump administration on Mexico to help slow migration flows northward. Mexico, however, has also called on the United Nations and the United States to help with the monumental task.

“Migration is not a crime, it is an administrative responsibility,” Sandoval said.