The U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently announced the drowning of a 7-year-old Venezuelan girl after her attempt to cross the Rio Grande.
Victoria Lugo drowned after she was separated from her mother, Mayerling Fuenmayor, by a strong current, according to a Jan. 19 press release.
"The body of a child matching the mother’s description was found along the riverbank on the Mexico side of the Rio Grande, by Mexican authorities," the release states. "The mother was notified and confirmed it was her 7-year-old daughter, also a Venezuelan national."
According to the release, the child’s body was found in Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila.
"Agents were informed by a Venezuelan woman that her child was swept away by the current," the release states.
Border Patrol took the mother into custody and she was processed per guidelines set by Customs and Border Protection, according to the release.
According to Wikipedia, a common cause of immigrant border deaths is drowning in the Rio Grande as well as in canals and ditches, with border agents estimating that 10,000 people since 1994 have died in border crossing attempts.
Hyperthermia is among the most common causes of death in migrants crossing the border, according to Wikipedia.
U.S. Ambassador Carlos Vecchio placed blame of the incident on the communist regime of President Nicolás Maduro.
"Thousands of Venezuelans are risking everything, fleeing the disaster generated by the Maduro dictatorship, looking for a better present and future," Vecchio said, according to the Daily Mail. "Over 6 million exiles and counting. To stop this international crisis of Venezuelan migrants, we must put an end to the root of the problem."
