Inside a doomed migrant boat journey from Mexico to California

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Inside a doomed migrant boat journey from Mexico to California
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He too felt himself sinking, but an image of his 3-year-old daughter came to him and he thought: No, I have to survive.

"Think of God and what you most love: a child, your mother," Eberardo, 36, who was trying to get back to his family in the Midwest after being deported to Mexico, remembers saying."Let that give you strength.""We are going to make it," Eberardo told the 31 other passengers, all but one of them Mexican migrants like him who had paid a smuggler for the risky journey on that day in early May.

Two migrants on board the Salty Lady, the boat that capsized with Eberardo aboard, say he saved lives by keeping a close watch on the boat's captain, 39-year-old U.S. citizen Antonio Hurtado, who they say was acting erratically throughout the trip. When his older brother suggested he come to the United States, Eberardo, then 19, leapt at the chance. He crossed the border into Texas without being detected, and settled in the Midwest, where he worked in factories and fell in love with a Mexican woman, who was also in the United States illegally and had a son from a previous relationship.

Then, Eberardo said, he got an offer: Deliver a kilogram of heroin to a grocery store parking lot. He says he hesitated. But his contact kept mentioning it, he said, and eventually the lure of being able to chip away at debts with the $5,000 on offer was too strong. Eberardo pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison. He was released early, on April 7, 2021, due to good conduct, records show. He was immediately picked up by immigration officers and, two days later, sent back to Mexico.Within a month, Eberardo said, he found a smuggler in Tijuana who said he could cross him over to the United States by sea."Nothing is 100%, only death," the smuggler replied."But it's 99% certain that you'll make it.

Hurtado's boat was bigger than most but wasn't in good shape, according to another border official."It wasn't the most seaworthy vessel out there," said Michael Montgomery, the head of CBP's air and marine operations in San Diego. Aboard the Salty Lady, Hurtado instructed the migrants in English to crouch as he set off for the United States, according to the three migrants who spoke with Reuters. Hurtado didn't speak Spanish, the migrants said, so Eberardo said he helped translate, although his own English is shaky.

Eberardo said after a few hours of the boat rocking violently in place, Hurtado tried to lift the anchor but struggled. Eberardo stepped in and cut the anchor line with a saw, he and Edgar recounted. As he was about to jump into the Pacific, he turned back and lowered his hand into the cabin to see if he could help anyone still trapped. A young man grabbed it, and Eberardo said he yanked him to safety. Edgar, the farmer on board, confirmed that the young man described the rescue to the group when they were in custody later. The young man couldn't be reached for comment.

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