SHOCK: 30 Percent of Migrants Entering Mexico Have STDs, Warns NGO

An NGO that closely works with migrants in Mexico’s Southern border is warning the public that three out of every ten migrants arriving from Central America have syphilis or other types of sexually transmitted diseases.

The revelation came this week when the group “Street Brigade in Support of Women Eliza Martinez” conducted free testing in Tapachula, Chiapas. This Mexican city borders Guatemala and is the primary way most migrants enter the country from the south.

According to statements from Christian Gomez Fuentes, the spokesman for the NGO to Mexico’s EFE news agency, they have noticed a dramatic rise in positive tests for syphilis, primarily among the Cuban population. The trend has been deemed as problematic, however, the group has noted that they have not yet seen a rise in HIV cases. As part of their work, the NGO promotes safe sex practices and encourages migrants to test themselves and their partners routinely.

The issue comes as the southern state of Chiapas continues to be a political hotspot as thousands of migrants continue to arrive each day with the intent of making their way north toward the U.S. border. As Breitbart Texas reported, Mexico’s government has been using the immigration debate as a way to negotiate with the U.S. government for additional sums of money and aid in exchange for helping slow down the flow of migrants. However, Mexican immigration officials have been widely demanding bribes from migrants in exchange for expediting travel documents or for selling them other documents. As Breitbart Texas reported, Mexican immigration agents routinely work with drug cartels who control the border and can extort migrants and collect travel fees under the threat of turning them over to cartel gunmen.

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 Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

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 bdarby@breitbart.com.