2023-05-08 17:05:36
Police in Brownsville, Texas, charged a man with eight count of manslaughter this Monday, a day after he ran over more than a dozen of Venezuelan migrants and seven of them, plus another person, died.
Felix Sauceda, the police chief of this Texan town, said that they are still investigating whether the man acted intentionally, although they suspect that he lost control of the gray Range Rover truck after he ran a red light at a traffic light.
At a press conference, the official explained that the man, of Hispanic origin, ran over 18 people. Of them, seven died at the bus stop where the incident took place and one of them after receiving medical attention at a local hospital.
confirmed that seven of the eight deceased are Venezuelans, who were sitting in front of a bus stop outside the Centro Obispo Enrique San Pedro Ozanam shelter. The place, which is run by the Catholic Church, serves people on the move and has a capacity for 12 people.
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Sunday night that condemned the accident and demanded that the authorities conduct a thorough investigation into the case. He called to rule out whether hate speech was the reason for the hit-and-run and issued condolences to the victims.
Sauceda explained this Monday that he has not yet identified the seven deceased migrants.
We explain: Venezuelans run over in Texas: what we know about the tragedy in Brownsville
Who is George Alvarez?
The cause of the collision, George Álvarez, is a man of Mexican origin and is 34 years old. The Brownsville police chief said he had an extensive criminal record. Among them he mentioned two charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; attack on an old man; attacks against members of his family and public servants, among others.
Sauceda mentioned that he also has charges for auto theft, drunk driving, evading arrest, possession of two ounces of marijuana and now eight counts of manslaughter.
Alvarez was also charged with 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and authorities set bail at $3.6 million.
The accident occurred a few days after the United States lifted Title 42, implemented in the government of Donald Trump and followed by Joe Biden, to expel migrants without allowing them to request asylum.
The White House began to increase the expulsions of migrants who enter through its southern border from Mexico, it will reinforce the military presence with another 1,500 troops and in El Paso (Texas), on the border with Ciudad Juárez (Mexico) it placed metal fences and barbed wire. spike, to try to stop the crossing of people on the move.
With information from AP and The Washington Post
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