Man whose body was found on street in Mexico identified as Jamaican

 

The body of a man found in Mexico recently has been positively identified as being that of a Jamaican.

 

Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith said the government has been in contact with the family and Mexican authorities.

 

Senator Johnson Smith said the man was reported missing in the Central American country. 

 

"The persons who were supposed to have been travelling with him became uncontactable by [his] family. However, some efforts were made by our embassy in Mexico to reach out to the department that is responsible for identification of personnel and of persons and it was found that the young Jamaican citizen was identified as having had an autopsy performed on him but not having been a body claimed," she disclosed at Wednesday morning's post-Cabinet press briefing.

 

Senator Johnson Smith said efforts are being made to have the man's body repatriated to Jamaica. 

 

Minister Johnson Smith was at pains to warn people against engaging in the act of illegal border crossings.

 

She said the stories that the smugglers and scammers sell to those in vulnerable communities should not be trusted. 

 

 

Hundreds of US troops are set to begin a new mission along the southern border Wednesday as officials and a surge of migrants, including Jamaicans, brace for what is to come when a Trump-era border restriction policy expires late Thursday.

 

Some 550 troops, mostly from the Army, will support US Customs and Border Protection by monitoring the border and doing data entry and warehouse support.

 

US Northern Command spokesperson John Cornelio said another 950 troops, largely from the Marines and Army, will arrive by the end of the month.

 

More than 28,000 migrants were in Customs and Border Protection custody as of Wednesday morning.