By Jose Luis Gonzalez
CHIHUAHUA, Mexico (Reuters) – Migrants try to avoid catching fire in blankets and mattresses in a camp north of the Mexican city of Chihuahua during an attack by government forces to extinguish the area in the early hours of Saturday.
The enforcement action near the US border comes just before the inauguration on Monday of US President-elect Donald Trump, who has accused the Mexican government of not doing enough to prevent immigration to the US and threatened tariffs.
About 250 Mexican officials, including National Army police in riot gear, surrounded the camp at midnight, according to a Reuters witness.
Migrants started burning mattresses and blankets in protest, the witness said, and tried to leave the place carrying children and clothes.
No deaths or injuries were reported in the fire, which was extinguished in less than an hour.
Mexico's immigration agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An immigration official, who was not authorized to speak to reporters, told Reuters that the goal of the operation was to bring the migrants to the southern border of Mexico, where they would be told to return to their countries.
It was not clear how many people were arrested.
Most of the 150 migrants were Venezuelan families camped in the city of Chihuahua, about 220 kilometers (360 miles) from the city limits of Ciudad Juarez across from El Paso, Texas, as they headed north to the US.
Venezuelan immigrant Daniel Barrios, who was accompanied by a woman carrying a child on her back and a child carrying a blue backpack, said they were shocked by the sudden presence of the police.
“They surrounded the camp … they just asked to talk, that they were going to do an inspection and all that,” he said.
“ Tell me (WA:) to me, is it reasonable to bring all the police and military forces, supposedly to inspect the camp, when they can do it during the day? “
Barrios cut off his comments as he saw the officers in the distance, saying, “We have to go.”
Another family that fled the camp says they are confused and scared. A woman was crying as she held two children by her side, and two men held toddlers, as red smoke rose in the air behind them.
“The police and immigration officials came. We arrived at this place today, and we don't know what is going on,” said one of the men. “We are confused. We are afraid.”