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Passenger Vehicles Navigate Around Parked Trucks South of Juarez
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – In a bold protest against rampant highway robberies and alleged extortion at checkpoints, Mexican truck drivers have taken to blocking key routes leading to the U.S. border.
On Monday, just before midday, a line of semis obstructed the Pan American Highway south of Juarez. While commercial trucks and passenger buses were the primary targets, personal vehicles were allowed to carefully maneuver around the blockade.
David Ortiz, vice president of the National Transport Operators Association, the group behind the protest, expressed their demands: “We seek an end to the violence, as well as the deaths and disappearances of truck drivers. We have experienced up to 200 operators going missing, and the government remains inactive.”
The protest extended to other regions, with association members also blocking parts of the highway near Chihuahua City, Camargo, Parral, and Villa Ahumada.
Ortiz said the blockade 20 miles south of Juarez would continue until the Mexican government meets with truckers’ leaders in good faith. He said no disruptions were planned at international bridges linking Juarez and El Paso, Texas.
“We need a trust fund. We need to protect the widows, the (relatives) who were left unprotected. We need that support and, above all, that the government improves safety on highways,” Ortiz said.
Trucker Jaime Gomez Gonzalez said he wants the Mexican government also to do something about rising gasoline and diesel prices and the “bad roads” that cause unnecessary wear on their vehicles.
Ortiz said one of the trucks in his fleet was hijacked recently and that it took a week for his driver to get Mexican authorities to start a search.
The association first aired its complaints last year and the Claudia Sheinbaum administration formed a working group of truckers and government officials to look into the issue. But Ortiz said the officials “just wanted to take a picture” and did not provide solutions to the truckers.
ProVideo in Juarez, Mexico, contributed to this report.