Tonight on Dateline, reporter Prue Lewarne takes a dangerous journey through Mexico aboard “The Beast” – a freight train used by thousands of migrants desperate to reach the United States.
In Spanish, the train is known as ‘La Bestia’ — The Beast. It’s also called ‘El Tren de la Muerte’ — the Train of Death.
Over the years, The Beast has taken more than enough lives and severed enough limbs to earn its title.
Migrants from Central and South America passing north through Mexico have no safe passage on their journey to the US; they are vulnerable to extortionists and gangs and must avoid migration agents who can detain them.
Hitching a free ride on top of one of Mexico’s freight trains is just one of the many dangerous obstacles some must overcome to reach their destination.
Thousands of migrants attempt to ride the train north every month, despite the risk of death and injury.
Immigration has emerged as one of the most contentious issues in the November US presidential election placing the migrants in an uncomfortable spotlight.
But the migrants on The Beast seem impervious to not being welcomed or wanted in the place they hope to live.
9:30pm tonight on SBS.
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