A Mexican migrant woman and her two sons drowned while trying to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into Texas. The drowning comes as the Coahuila-Texas border continues to be one of the main hotspots for irregular migration, leading to six fatalities in 12 days.
On Friday evening, a group of migrants tried to swim across the Rio Grande from Piedras Negras, Coahuila to Eagle Pass, Texas, near the International Bridge #2, which leads to Shelby Park. The park is one of the main crossing areas used by cartel-connected human smuggling organizations to move migrants into Texas so they can request asylum and avoid deportation. On Thursday, the Texas Military Department seized Shelby Park and removed federal agents in an attempt to slow the ongoing crisis, Breitbart Texas reported.
While the group was trying to cross, 33-year-old Virterma de la Sancha and her two sons, ages ten and eight, got carried away by the current and began to drown. A group of migrants on the Mexican side called 911, reporting the drowning. Mexican Army soldiers, National Guardsmen, and firefighters rushed to the scene and noticed that five people were drowning.
Mexican cops and soldiers jumped into the Rio Grande and rescued the migrants. However, Virterma and her two sons had already died. Emergency workers tried CPR and other measures but were unable to resuscitate them. Authorities did manage to rescue two other migrants, identified as Mónica de la Sancha Cerros and Víctor Antonio Briones de la Sancha.
After the rescue-recovery, officials waited for members of the Coahuila Attorney General’s Office to document the case and take custody of the bodies, as per Mexican law.
As Breitbart Texas has reported, the Coahuila-Texas border area has become one of Mexico’s deadliest due to the number of migrants who drown while trying to cross the Rio Grande, as well as those who succumb while trying to trek through rough terrain in an attempt to avoid U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at
