La Bestia: The Train of Death

This story is also available in Spanish.

9th of April, 2024. It was a purely coincidential encounter, which left a permanent impression on me.

A day before the encounter, I was in Torreón, to see a Total Solar Eclipse. After that, I decided to check out Gómez Palacio in the afternoon. I was walking through a marketplace, which led me to the train tracks where "La Bestia" would be standing still.

Torreón, Lerdo and Gómez Palacio are 3 neighboring towns, and part of a region in Mexico called "La Laguna".

Impressions

On top of this cargo train that presented itself in front of me – as far as my eyes could see – there were probably over a hundred people.

I called out to them: "De dónde son?" (Where are you from?)

"Colombia!" yelled some of them back. They seemed excited.

A family with kids was sitting under a tent they had set up on the train. There was a sign on the train that said "Building America".

People were jumping from wagon to wagon with their kids and clothes in their arms. Some were climbing onto them.

Soon, the train would start moving. People were waving at me.

About this train

After this experience, I did some research on the train. I didn't even know it was called "La Bestia" at the day of my encounter.

I found out that it is a dangerous undertaking. The train is fast, and people end up getting hurt, losing an arm, or worse: dying.

"La Bestia" rather than being a single train, refers to a network of trains that start in the southern border of Mexico (near Guatemala). Inside of Mexico, the tracks split in three: A western route, a central route, and an eastern route.

I was told that sometimes you can see people waiting for the train in order to give clothes and food to the emigrants.

"La Bestia" in 2025 with President Trump?

Trump wants to stop illegal migration into the US. How does it affect these people?