The identities and causes of death were unknown, Mexican officials said.
August 3, 2023, 4:58 AM
Two bodies have been found stuck in the lines of orange buoys installed by Texas authorities in the Rio Grande along the U.S.-Mexico border, Mexican officials said.
The Texas Department of Public Safety notified the Mexican Consulate in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Wednesday afternoon that a person was found dead in the southern part of the floating barriers. Members of the Mexican National Institute of Migration’s assistance unit, Grupos Beta, are spearheading efforts to recover the body, according to the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“So far, the cause of death and nationality of the person is unknown,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers ride past buoys while patrolling the Rio Grande river along the international boundary of the United States and Mexico near Eagle Pass, Texas, July 29, 2023.
Adrees Latif/Reuters
The Mexican National Institute of Migration told ABC News on Wednesday that a second body has been discovered in the buoys. The person’s identity and cause of death was also unknown.
It remained unclear whether the deaths were connected.
The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeated its condemnation of the buoys, calling them a “violation of our sovereignty.”
Migrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexico walk along large buoys being used as a floating border barrier on the Rio Grande Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Eric Gay/AP
“We express our concern about the impact on the human rights and personal safety of migrants that these state policies will have, which go in the opposite direction to the close collaboration between our country and the federal government of the United States,” the ministry added. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to follow up on the case promptly through the Mexican Consulate in Eagle Pass, maintaining contact with the corresponding authorities in Mexico and the United States to obtain more information on what happened and to request that the necessary investigations be carried out.”
Workers continue to deploy large buoys to be used as a border barrier along the banks of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, Wednesday, July 12, 2023.
Eric Gay/AP
The Texas Department of Public Safety, at the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott, began installing the floating barriers along portions of the Rio Grande river this summer in an effort to deter migrants from illegally crossing into the United States from Mexico.
The U.S. Department of Justice has sued Abbott over the use of the buoys.
ABC News’ Matt Rivers, Jim Scholz and Mireya Villarreal contributed to this report.