Updated 02:04 PM EST, Sun, Dec 22, 2024

Erwin Lino, Secretary to Mexican President, Posts 'Distasteful' Photo on Twitter

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Call this one "Twitter Turmoil." In an embarrassing move, Erwin Lino, private secretary of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, is in the hot seat for a controversial photo that was posted to the social media outlet Monday.

The photo, which depicted a number of men stowed away on top of a jet in the air and labeled with a caption that read "Honduran soccer team on the way to Brazil," appeared to be poking fun at Central American immigrants, who have remained the topic of conversation in political circles over the last couple of months. The photo was quickly removed after the media began to call attention to it, but copies around the internet remain.

The picture, a poor humorous reference to La Bestia or El Tren De La Muerte, a battered train that runs from Central America up through Mexico carrying thousands of passengers on its exterior, has been the centerpiece of numerous TV documentaries capturing the dangerous and sometimes fatal journey it makes.

Delcia Ventura Canales spoke to Fronteras new reporters about the dangers of the train. "We saw three people die on the train. One was hit by a tree branch, the other was hit by an electric cable and the other was thrown off the train by someone."

Immigration from Central American countries into Mexico has seen an increase, primarily from the Honduran nation. Violence and hunger are major driving forces behind the recent increase in migration to Mexico, and the United States has seen its share of rising immigration numbers from Central America in recent years as well.

Central American immigration has become a "humanitarian crisis" in the U.S., and the rising numbers have spurred the Obama administration into sending Vice President Joe Biden to Central America later this week to speak with leaders in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala about the recent immigration issues.

Lino responded to the controversy on Twitter, stating that his account had been used "by someone other than me." Lino then stated that he was taking measures to ensure that it would not happen again.

Local news outlets in Mexico are not buying Lino's excuse, and have fired back that the picture is "in bad taste."

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