Guatemala City  -    Guatemalan police have rescued 15 Cubans dangerously jammed into a truck to try to sneak into the United States, police said Monday.

The travelers included a two-year-old and were found Saturday in the northeastern town of Esquipulas, said National Police spokesman Edwin Monroy. “They were all being transported in inhumane conditions and sharing a small space,” he added. The Cubans were trying to reach the US border illegally, the spokesman added.

The driver of the truck has been arrested for people-trafficking, Monroy said. The Cubans were taken to a shelter, he added. Thousands of people from Africa, Asia and Haiti travel every year to South and Central America, trying to cross Mexico and sneak into the United States in search of a better life.