Deadliest Roads | Mexico | Free Documentary

[Music] so [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 passport [Music] 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 one thousand hitching a ride oh 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 today it's a big hall 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 jaime is 30. he's persuaded lupita who's 19 to try for the american dream my objective is to reach brownsville in texas and 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 unlike us they're more than 2 000 miles from their final destination as soon as he reaches the station jaime has to find the right train there are many illegals have already made that mistake before you get on you have to make sure that the train is heading north you see a lot of migrants go through here oh lots what do mexicans think about it i've seen lots of accidents people who fall off the train and die because the train runs them over people get their legs cut off too last march the train went off the tracks there were before we because left talk so much about these tragic accidents that happen on the journey often feels really bad she feels sad but we're gonna make it hey we must lose hope i've never stopped believing since we set out and i'll never stop believing okay we're all gonna make it okay nestor we're gonna go on and when we get there we'll have a great party 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 [Music] other illegals weren't so lucky oh it hurts i look after him he fell off beside the [Music] train 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 i fell off when i tried to climb down before a migrant checkpoint 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 [Music] jaime and his group will only move on at night time 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 [Music] and i have the courage to go on for and i have them go on i have no choice 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 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 that's 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 his only 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 imei 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] so 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 [Music] [Applause] training nesta has trouble recovering [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] so [Music] [Music] jaime first crossed the u.s border illegally when he was young that was with his parents they settled in los angeles where they lived for 15 years 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 [Music] i met her in las lagas the village where my grandmother and my cousins live i spotted her i used to say hello from afar and i fell in love with her but i didn't dare tell her i didn't know what she'd think of me so i used one of my very best moves which i'd learned back in the usa is as well [Music] so [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 they're too many illegals crowding around the freight cars you never know what these people are thinking sometimes they come up to you to talk but you never know if they're that's why i keep as far away as possible i've always acted like that in my previous trips 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 what worried me most was 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 i'll go and ask if anybody has some but don't be scared i'm here [Music] and the whole group as well it'll be all right okay my love 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 oh [Applause] oh [Music] one [Music] [Music] that's the hardest thing 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] [Applause] [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] 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 going to do it could be a maid or take care of children anyway we'll find work that's for sure i could be a waitress in a restaurant as well [Music] [Music] as they leave cordoba the train stops again due to mechanical failure jaime and his companions are exhausted [Applause] jaime what are you going to do now i'm going to find a place to shelter uh to sleep for a while let's see if anybody can take us in it's getting late now and night is falling tomorrow there's no question of going into town the police could arrest them and they mustn't stray too far from the tracks amit tries to ask for hospitality um and i don't want any trouble okay fine no no problem thank you sir thank you [Music] [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 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 [Music] it'll be all right we've made good progress from it's buzzing with cops everybody knows that comparison here the police presence is just like that the arizaba 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 15 for the whole group 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 to 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] um [Music] so [Applause] [Music] so you were telling me the other day that you wanted to change your life i have changed my life so what was your life like before yesterday well let's say that my life was a little wild the fiesta i'm really sorry about ban from living in the united states thank god i've been thinking it all over and i've left all my vices behind me 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 meets him along the track you won't see his face the man doesn't want to take any chances thanks so much so as not to attract the attention of the police each goes into town on their own lupita is the first to arrive in this empty apartment oh there's a shower a shower [Applause] 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 and all the suffering we've endured for the rest of the journey 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 i know you're all going to make it may god keep us together and may he lead and protect us until our final 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 [Music] they've now been taking bus off after bus for four days 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 san diego tijuana 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 pledged in spanish they're going to spend the night in this little hotel they say hey [Music] i have to stay alert in case the police or the army launch an operation it's better this way we'll get a little rest at least [Music] 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 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 and it's a bit complicated to hit your ride and to get somebody to help us that's how this journey is says [Music] after walking 16 miles they finally come to a bus stop the only choice will be to stay in this village and ask for hospitality see if somebody could take us in because now it's it's getting really cold we're freezing along soon one hour later and finally there's a bus it will take them as far as matamoros the border town with the united states they've arrived it's been 24 days since they left salvador and they've traveled nearly two and a half thousand miles journey 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 because i can tell you that on the american side there are often lots of cop patrols and i already have to get nestor 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 in a tube yeah i'm in a tube or a boy but do you think we can find one there probably yes but personally i'm going to buy one here but i say the opposite i'm scared of crossing the river why are you scared 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 six one four hello good evening sorry to trouble you it's uh mr salvador there could i talk to him please salvador is lupita's father oh good evening 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 she's very well indeed sir i'm jaime the married son listen i've needed to talk to you about your daughter for a long time now you know i love her very much and she tells me that you're not happy that i'm going out with her 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 prometo 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 oh sorry please forgive me i'm at the border dad tomorrow we'll be on the other side see yeah [Music] see [Music] the family would never have accepted me now that we're far away from them and we've reached our objective 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 america is right in front of them they still have to swim across the river and lupita and nestor are petrified what's that i don't get the impression that there are patrols on the other side i think it's okay i think everything will be all right we're not 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 yes they're no yes yes they are i'm very happy i'm going to cross two i know it and it's all going well thank god [Music] [Applause] that's great lupita is fine everything's fine with lupita she's over there hang on a second i hid her away again it's easy to spot do you see any police patrols at the moment no that's nothing really hang on nestor i'm a little tired hang on i've got to go see you later huh do [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, most dangerous roads, most dangerous journeys, worlds most dangerous roads, worlds most dangerous journeys, deadliest roads, deadliest roads in the world, dicing with death, deadliest journeys, dicing with death Mexico, most dangerous roads Mexico, deadliest roads Mexico, dangerous Mexico, deadliest journeys Mexico, Mexico

Id: 9hF5azY5lq4

Length: 48min 55sec (2935 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 28 2021