Bodies of father and daughter taken home as Trump blamed for border chaos
Óscar and Valeria Martinez died trying to cross Rio Grande
Aid worker says Trump chaos killing innocent migrants
Patrick Timmons in Matamoros
Thu 27 Jun 2019 16.06 EDT Last modified on Thu 27 Jun 2019 20.32 EDT
The bodies of a young father and his tiny daughter who drowned in the Rio Grande have been repatriated to their native El Salvador, two days after shocking images of their deathly embrace galvanized debate over America’s migration crisis .
Wrapped in white body bags, Óscar Martínez, 26, and Valeria, 23 months, were transported first by road then by air, accompanied by Martínez’s bereaved wife Vanessa Ávalos, 21, who had been standing helplessly on the riverbank of the river when her loved ones were swept away by the current.
As the bodies made their sombre journey on Thursday, a veteran US humanitarian worker who runs a shelter in the Mexican town of Matamoros, where they died, accused Donald Trump of causing chaos at the US-Mexico border and said innocent migrants are dying as a result.
Larry Cox, the founding director of the Casa Bugambilia shelter in Matamoros, spoke out about the terrible dangers migrants face and blamed Trump for stoking fears of foreigners in the US and failing to cope with an increase in families crossing the border.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/27/us-mexico-border-migrants-texas-el-salvador-oscar-martinez
