Israel Fuguemann

Journalist & Photographer

The Beast, a long journey through Mexico

Follow Hire

Location: Colombia

Nationality: Mexican

Biography: Journalist and documentary photographer. In the last years his work focused on social and environmental themes, especially documenting people and cultures in resistance, and the always more extensive reality of extractivism of raw materials... MORE

Hundreds of thousands of people...he continent. México

Hundreds of thousands of people from different parts of the planet are traveling the American continent from South to North. They are migrants who have been forced to travel irregularly when trying to evade the immigration restrictions imposed by the countries that precede their final destination: the United States of America. Only in the first half of 2023, around 200,000 people made the journey from La Selva del Darién to northern Mexico, a figure five times higher than the previous year. If the trend continues, by the end of this year, some 400,000 people will make this long journey trying to achieve the American dream. During the journey through Mexico, the migrants travel on a train known as "La Bestia", a network of cargo trains that cross two thousand kilometers, transporting fuel, materials and other inputs along the railways of Mexico. It is estimated that annually half a million migrants use this dangerous means of transportation to travel to the United States and avoid immigration controls by the Mexican government. Deaths, accidents, assaults, and extortion are some of the risks that migrants face when they board the train and cross Mexican territory, a country with the highest crime and violence rates on the continent. México

The Beast, a long journey through Mexico

PLAY

STOP

GRID

FULL

LOVE

Thumbnail of Hundreds of thousands of people _the continent. México

Thumbnail of The Beast, a long journey through Mexico

Private Story

The Beast, a long journey through Mexico

Updated Jun 2023

Topics Borders, Dreams, Family, Hope, Immigration, Journalism, Latin America, Migration, Photography, Photojournalism, Relationships, Reportage, US Politics