Calay News
María Cabarcas, a Venezuelan migrant, arrived in Texas with her family a week ago after crossing the Rio Grande from Matamoros, Mexico. She was separated from her husband and son, who were taken to a detention center in Brownsville, while she and her two daughters were sent to another center for women near Eagle Pass. A day after her arrival, María experienced a sudden feeling of despair and later learned that her son, who had crossed with her, was killed in a hit-and-run accident while waiting for her outside the detention center. Meanwhile, a resident of Brownsville plowed into a group of people waiting at a bus stop, killing eight, including several Venezuelan migrants, on Sunday.
María’s husband, Wilmer Colina, was taken to Brownsville after being detained and given an order to appear in court later. Her stepson, Enyerbeth Cabarcas, was released in the same city but went missing. Hundreds of mostly Venezuelan migrants are waiting in Brownsville for their detained relatives to be released so they can continue their journey to other parts of the US. María was released on Sunday and told that her son had died. A friend informed her that he had seen her son’s body in the accident.
The police in Brownsville charged George Álvarez, a man with a criminal record, with involuntary manslaughter for crashing his truck into a crowd outside the Ozanam Shelter, where Enyerbeth was staying, leaving at least eight dead and several injured. Survivors reported that the driver had insulted them before the incident. The tension in Brownsville remains high, and an armed man was arrested while attempting to enter the Ozanam Shelter. Despite the tragedy, María and her husband plan to continue their journey to Chicago, where they hope to build a better future in honor of their son’s memory.
