Deadliest Journeys - Mexico, Train to El Dorado

[Music] this [Music] so [Music] [Music] oh it's seven in the morning on the river that forms the border between guatemala and mexico these men and women come from salvador honduras or nicaragua they are crossing the river into mexico illegally but have another destination in mind the united states every year more than a million people flee the poverty of their own countries and try their luck on this road to what some call the impossible dream on the mexican side the military turns a blind eye for a few dollars the greenback is the illegals only [Music] passport to reach the border with texas they have to cross the whole of mexico a journey of two and a half thousand miles and a journey which for most heading north begins at the ariaga railroad station the only means of transport for the illegals are freight trains every day thousands take the moving trains by storm regardless of the danger each one tries to find himself a little spot on the roofs on the axles between the cars there can be as many as 1 000 hitching a ride a ride that can turn into a trap because in order to round up the maximum number of illegal immigrants the police stop the train in the middle of the countryside out here there's nowhere to run get down come on get today it's a big haul 300 are arrested 300 illegals who have crossed just a few hundred miles of mexican territory it's the end of their journey they'll be deported to their countries of origin only 40 percent of those who attempt exile reach the united states border these four young people are from el salvador they've been walking along the tracks for two days [Music] jaime is 30. he's persuaded lupita who's 19 to try for the american dream my objective is to reach brownsville in texas once i get there to work hard to give lupita a better life jaime acts as the group's leader nesta and velma also agreed to make the trip but they're nervous it's very hard because i'm like jaime this is my first trip he's already been over several times and has lots of experience unlike us they are more than two thousand miles from their final destination as soon as he reaches the station jaime has to find the right train there are no indicator boards nothing to say where the trains are heading is going the wrong way towards the guatemalan border many illegals have already made that mistake before you get on you have to make sure that the train is heading north do you see a lot of migrants go through here oh lots what do mexicans think about it no it'll never stop people who fall off the train and die because the train runs them over people who get their legs cut off too well last march the train went off the tracks there were 15 dead 15 dead and a huge number of injured historians we're all going to make it okay nesta we're gonna go on and when we get there we'll have a great part when they try to climb aboard the moving trains the migrants are taking a big risk yesterday i fell off the train there between the cars but thank god i wasn't hurt other illegals weren't so lucky oh it hurts i look after him he fell off beside the train [Music] others aren't so lucky there are many injured being treated in the town's [Music] clinic [Music] rosanna is salvadorian both her legs were amputated a month ago she's still convalescing i was traveling with another salvadorian woman and three honduran men they didn't even climb down because they thought i'd been killed for sure jaime and his group will only move on at nighttime before they leave they rest in this little hotel across from the tracks in the next room there are other salvadorians who like them have done 200 miles on foot to get this far there's blancadora who left her husband behind and of her six children only francisco is coming on the journey ruth their cousin has also left her family i left my three children a boy 13 a boy of eight and a girl of three i'll see them again one day that's life it's dark and like ghosts the illegals invade the tracks [Music] lupita and jaime have decided to make the journey with the salvadorians from the next room there are now seven of them the more the better for facing the rigours of the crossing of mexico ah there's no more room here the train is already full to bursting they have to find a place before it leaves [Music] and then a stroke of luck at the back of the train the freight car has been left open so nobody climbs in we'll keep the car for ourselves to jam the door so it doesn't close during the journey so we don't run the risk of it closing because then it might mean we won't have enough air and we might die [Music] now that they have a car jaime has to protect it as any weapon a machete all along the journey gangs might take advantage of the migrants and rob them many women are raped jaime is worried in his group there are four women the beast as the migrants call the train gets underway jaime and his group have walked hundreds of miles to get aboard this train their smiles say it all but the hardest part is still to come they have another two thousand miles to cover to the american border and there are many hazards on the way changing trains several times feeding themselves finding lodgings and above all avoiding the police patrols this first ride in icy cold will last eight hours [Music] [Music] early morning and the train stops in a shunting yard [Music] exhausted by the journey jaime and his group must now wait for the next train [Music] [Applause] nesta has trouble recovering oh it's tough it's been really tough nope [Music] half an hour later they're on board another train there's no room in the front cars just a tiny passageway 20 feet square it's hard to sleep the noise is deafening [Music] [Music] [Music] i may first cross the u.s border illegally when he was young that was with his parents they settled in los angeles where they live for 15 years jaime even got a green card but things turned out badly he was a member of a gang fell foul of the law and was finally deported [Music] back in salvador meeting lupita transformed him it's a form of redemption he's taking her to texas to offer her a better life i met her in las la heist the village where my grandmother and my cousins live you want to say i spotted so i used one of my very best moves which i'd learned back in the usa disappoint her and i'm going to do all i can to get to the united states and we're going to try and help a family as well [Music] [Applause] [Music] the group moves from train to train with little or no sleep jaime spotted a train that's leaving lupita is exhausted she was hoping to rest for a few hours but jaime is anxious the station doesn't look safe there are too many illegals crowning around the freight cars that's why i keep as far away as possible what i'm going to do is we're going to the back of the train to be ready when it finally does leave i want to get a freight car to myself i don't want to put them in danger we're going to walk to the back of the train and hope we won't get into any trouble jaime has good reason to be worried at the start of their journey they were attacked three robbers attacked us they had machetes they threw us to the ground and stripped us naked and was them the women i thought they were going to rape them or mistreat them i prayed to god i was disgusted inside and i thought that if anything happened to them i was ready to die on the spot [Music] we're going to make it okay my love i've got a headache don't you have any aspirin aspirin well i'll go and ask if anybody has some but don't be scared i'm here it'll be all right but i am scared [Music] we're doing this we're making this journey so we can have a better life in the future i'm very happy with you and i love you with all my heart [Music] [Applause] uh [Music] one two one the cold hunger ah often there's no water the cops the police being chased that's the hardest [Music] suddenly the train grinds to a halt in the middle of the countryside the field of sugarcane will provide their only meal of the day [Music] okay [Music] so the other salvadorians traveling with them towards the american border don't know where they're going to settle in the united states ruth and blancadora hope to make enough money to support their family back home their heads are full of dreams [Music] i imagine because back home in salvador there's little work and certainly not much pay if there is people work from six in the morning till six at night i only earn about five dollars a day do you have any idea what you're gonna do anyway we'll find work that's for sure i could be a waitress in a restaurant as well [Music] as they leave cordoba the train stops again due to mechanical failure jaime and his companions are exhausted [Applause] what are you going to do now i'm going to find a place to shelter to sleep for a while let's see if anybody can take us in it's getting late now and night is falling tomorrow morning we'll see if we can get back on the train keep going we'll see how we make up there's no question of going into town the police could arrest them and they mustn't stray too far from the tracks payment tries to ask for hospitality good evening i'm sorry to bother you i'm here with five friends would you like to stay the night do you understand see i understand okay fine no no problem thank you sir thank you [Music] nobody in the neighborhood wants to take them in in mexico the law severely punishes citizens who help illegals up to six years in prison the group will sleep under the stars [Music] the next morning finds jaime in the shunting yards at arizaba he's on his own hidden under a freight car away from the other migrants and morale is not high i'd say that making this journey without any family it's it hurts a lot wherever we go there's never anybody waiting for us i feel pretty stressed actually and it's cold it'll come and it'll get even we can't continue on the train there's too much risk of getting arrested by the police after lecheria it's buzzing with cops everybody knows that there's a comparison here the police presence is [Music] station seems quiet but what jaime doesn't know is that a large number of police are patrolling close by suddenly in the distance he sees the police heading straight towards them to continue their journey jaime had only one solution pay a bribe fifteen dollars for the whole group [Music] foreign i was able to sort out the problem by giving them a little money so they would let us through okay i'll probably go and have a drink on that tell the truth i don't like to give bribes i know it's wrong but it's the only way that we can go on it was that we wouldn't be here [Music] so [Music] um [Music] so some other stuff as well there in los angeles i drove cars that didn't really belong to me i'm really sorry about that i carried weapons i was in prison several times for carrying weapons and once for but now that i've nearly finished my seven-year ban from living in the united states thank god i've been if one day an american judge gave me the opportunity to live in los angeles again i'd be more than grateful to him and to god believe me if the judges in los angeles who sentenced me realize how much i've changed i'm sure they'd give me another chance jaime and his group are still 1200 miles from the american border but now they'll be continuing their journey by road it's safer and they're less checks jaime is counting on a mexican friend [Music] he meets him along the track you won't see his face the man doesn't want to take any chances thanks so much i don't know how to thank you is it okay everybody's here yeah yeah everyone's good so as not to attract the attention of the police each goes into town on their own [Music] lupita is the first to arrive in this empty apartment oh there's a shower a shower velma their friend is exhausted she's cracking up and decided to go back this is bad news for the group's morale jaime also has some bad news to give they have to split up the end of the journey will be by bus it's impossible to travel as six without attracting the attention of the police jaime gives his final advice to blancadora francisco and ruth whom he's led this far and emotions run high it's very sad i know i don't like to how we cross that river take all of that that's that's useless you don't need that throw it away before crossing the river you've got to have got rid of all of that stuff and there's one more piece of advice i can give you make yourselves as clean as possible wear some perfume no really put on your cleanest clothes confidence in you in all of us i've never lost hope neither for myself nor the others may god keep us together and may he lead and protect us until our final destination lord and almighty father who art in heaven we thank you for having kept us together since we met until this day almighty god protect us for the rest of our journey give us the strength and the courage for their last meal together in mexico there's a little foretaste of america in the bus heading towards the united states border jaime and lupita are traveling as a couple their friend nesta sits three rows in front so as not to draw attention they've now been taking bus off the bus for four days and they're finally getting closer to the united states the border is about 400 miles away but in this region there are more and more police patrols they reach sotola marina less than 200 miles from the border they have almost reached their goal but jaime decides to stop for four days and four nights they've been watching police patrols they're going to spend the night in this it's better this way we'll get a little rest at least there's about another three hours in the bus to go it's not a lot but the best thing is to stay here tonight because if i make the least mistake now it could be fatal they'd send us back to salvador [Music] and yet the next day jaime makes his first mistake since he left salvador he gets off the bus at the wrong stop he doesn't know that the border is still 100 miles away they are lost and very exposed [Music] is that a bit risky what are you doing yeah but well there aren't a lot of cops around here and it's a bit complicated to hit your ride and to get somebody to help us we'll [Music] over there it's going to take a look oh yeah look see it says matamoros i'm sorry i'm sorry but you know how it is it'll be okay it's all right okay it's ten at night after walking sixteen miles they finally come to a bus stop [Music] the only choice will be to stay in this village and ask for [Music] along soon [Applause] one hour later and finally there's a bus it will take them as far as matamoros the border town with the united states [Music] they've arrived it's been 24 days since they left salvador and they've traveled nearly two and a half thousand miles i feel happy we're still alive we're jaime has decided not to cross the rio grande tonight the river that forms the border they're too tired the big day is for tomorrow the next morning there's a surprise their salvadorian friends turn up if they made it this far they had arranged to meet in this hotel they're exhausted but happy to be at the border in a few hours they will try to cross the river but once again it's every man for himself we can't go all together because i can tell you that on the american side there are often lots of cop patrols and i already have to get master across and then lupita do you understand to cross the river we must have something that floats because in this river even good swimmers can drown i'm going to buy one here [Music] but i say the opposite i'm scared of crossing the river why are you scared i'm afraid of drowning or that they'll catch us on the other side just before leaving the hotel jaime asks us for our phone to make an important call to salvador hey don't forget to do the code and then seven double eight one hello good evening sorry to trouble you it's uh mr salvador there could i talk to him please mr salvador is lupita's father oh good sorry to to bother you am i speaking to mr salvador um listen i have to have a very serious talk about lupita i can reassure you listen i've needed to talk to you about your daughter for a long time now you know i love her very much and i know it's hard for you to accept it for lots of reasons especially because i'm a bit of a tough guy but i'm a good boy really sir i'm not a bad guy and i'm a hard worker too no okay no listen i promise i'm going to take care of her i love her with all my heart i promise you and i'm going to marry her over there in brownsville texas i intend to marry your daughter and to spend my the rest of my life with her mr salvador hello daddy oh sorry please forgive me tomorrow we'll be on the other side see yeah see [Music] now that we're far away from them and we've reached our objectives we both love each other very much and we're going to be very happy together i'll have a lot of time in the future to get her family to accept me it's three o'clock in the morning on the banks of the rio grande the lights opposite are brownsville in texas on the other side america is right in front of them they still have to swim across the river and lupita and nestor are petrified i came and hid this a while ago this will allow us to float across to the other side like the one we just saw in the water i think everything will be all we're right gonna cross here are we there's some sort of bamboo some plants on the other side now you have to hold on to them to climb up the bank now if an immigration patrol shows up we have to keep the boy near so we can float back again and not get arrested okay oh we'll just run into town i look there they're across well not yet yes yes they are they're on the other bank i'm very happy i'm going to cross two i know it and it's all going well thank god benitez i'm here everything's fine with lupita she's over there hang on a second i hit her away do you see see you later [Applause] oh [Music] do [Music] so [Music] you

Channel: Best Documentary

Views: 1,744,818

Keywords: documentary, most dangerous roads, Deadliest Journeys, waterways, free documentary, travel, roads, National Geographic

Id: c9LGRR8M6Bg

Length: 48min 54sec (2934 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 08 2019