All aboard the 'death train' for the USA: Extraordinary images of hundreds of Central Americans climbing on top of lethal cargo train 'The Beast' in attempt to reach Mexico-U.S. border
- Hundreds of 'passengers' pile onto the freight train that departs from Mexico's southern Chiapas state
- It is headed for Mexico City, where immigrants will attempt to travel north to the U.S. border
- But gangs have hijacked the route, charging $100 (£64) or more for permission to mount the train
- Passengers risk robbery, kidnapping, rape, and murder to start a new life in America
- Mexico's government was expected to put an end to the problem this week, but didn't
This is 'La Bestia' - or 'The Beast' - which is perhaps the most treacherous train in the world.
It is not built to carry passengers, but that doesn't stop about 1,500 migrants piling on board the freight train's roof every day.
They are trying to reach the Mexico-U.S. border to start a new life in America. Most are refugees fleeing endemic violence in Central America. But they face a terrifying journey ahead of them.
For years Mexico's notorious drug gangs have been in control of the route, charging $100 (£64) or more for permission to mount the train.
Threats, attacks and extortion continue en route after it departs from Arriaga, in Mexico's southern Chiapas state, around 160 miles north of the Guatemala border.
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Dangerous: Central American immigrants get on the so-called La Bestia (The Beast) cargo train, in an attempt to reach the Mexico-US border
Mexico's drug gangs have hijacked the route, charging $100 (£64) or more for permission to mount the train
The attacks are a vital component of Mexico’s organised crime underworld, and constitute a criminal industry estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars per year.
Dirty, tired and hungry, the passengers then face a 12-mile jouThe train terminates at the outskirts of Mexico City, 520 miles away. There, lying in wait, are more members of Mexico’s most powerful and violent criminal gangs.
About 44,000 unaccompanied minors from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have been apprehended at the U.S. border from October through the end of June.
On board: Passengers risk robbery, kidnapping, rape, and murder to start a new life in America
Migrant smuggling is seen as a highly lucrative business that generates payoffs for local law enforcement to look the other way
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