Heartbreaking moment Venezuelan migrant recorded a video for his father in Texas and shouted 'we made it dad' before he drowned in the Rio Grande with seven others
- Non-profit immigration law firm 1800migrante.com obtained a video that shows the final moments of two Venezuelan migrants before drowning September 2
- Footage released Thursday shows Walter González Piña and his friend Exleiker González crossing the river with another man
- González Piña recorded a video for his father in Texas, shouting 'we made it dad'
- The men were about to reach the shore near Eagle Pass, Texas, when González Piña and Exleiker González were swept downstream
- They were among eight migrants who drowned September 2 and were found dead the next day
- Almost 800 migrants have died while crossing the border in fiscal year 2022
A never-before-seen video shows the moment a Venezuelan migrant recorded a video for his father to let him know he was crossing the United States-Mexico border before he and another person drowned in the Rio Grande.
The gut-wrenching footage was released by the non-profit law firm, 1800migrante.com, on Thursday, four weeks after eight migrants were found dead in the river.
In the video, Walter González Piña, 21, is seen waddling through the Rio Grande as Exleiker González, 26, followed him closely, and a third migrant stood a few yards to his right.
'Talk to them. What's going on?' González Piña said. 'We made it dad.'
![Walter González Piña (front) filmed a video that he sent to his father in Texas to let him know that he was crossing the United States-Mexico border via the Rio Grande moments before he and Exleiker González were swept by a current September 2 and found dead the next day with six other migrants](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/09/29/22/62944375-11264301-Walter_Gonz_lez_Pi_a_front_filmed_a_video_that_he_sent_to_his_fa-a-53_1664487633740.jpg)
Walter González Piña (front) filmed a video that he sent to his father in Texas to let him know that he was crossing the United States-Mexico border via the Rio Grande moments before he and Exleiker González were swept by a current September 2 and found dead the next day with six other migrants
![Exleiker González had dreams of finding a job in the United States and provide support for his three sons - a one-month-old, a three-year-old and an eight-year-old](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/09/29/22/62946155-11264301-image-m-55_1664487906429.jpg)
Exleiker González had dreams of finding a job in the United States and provide support for his three sons - a one-month-old, a three-year-old and an eight-year-old
According to 1800migrante.com, González Piña and Exleiker González were close to reaching the Rio Grande's shore in Eagle Pass, Texas, when a current swept them down stream September 2.
The other man made it safely to shore and called Guady González in Texas to let him know that his son, González Piña, had disappeared in the river.
He desperately searched after both men and then alerted the U.S. Border Patrol.
'The guy who was ahead, when he reached the shore, turned around and did not see them,' Guady González told 1800migrante.com. '(He said) that he spent almost an hour looking for them and did not find them, then he turned himself in … and informed the authorities and they went out to look for them.'
![Walter González Piña was among eight migrants who were found dead in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas, on September 3. The Venezuelan man was crossing the river that divides the United States and Mexico border September 2 and recorded a video for his father, who lives in Texas, and said 'we made it dad.' He and another migrant from Venezuela, Exleiker González, who he met in Central America, were swept downstream moments before they were going to step on the U.S. shore](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/09/29/22/62944369-11264301-image-m-44_1664486314301.jpg)
Walter González Piña was among eight migrants who were found dead in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas, on September 3. The Venezuelan man was crossing the river that divides the United States and Mexico border September 2 and recorded a video for his father, who lives in Texas, and said 'we made it dad.' He and another migrant from Venezuela, Exleiker González, who he met in Central America, were swept downstream moments before they were going to step on the U.S. shore
![Venezuelan migrant Exleiker González spent the last six years living in Colombia and drowned in the Rio Grande on September 3 while trying to cross the United States-Mexico border](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/09/29/22/62944379-11264301-image-m-46_1664486644247.jpg)
Venezuelan migrant Exleiker González spent the last six years living in Colombia and drowned in the Rio Grande on September 3 while trying to cross the United States-Mexico border
At least 37 migrants were rescued that day after trying to brave the Rio Grande's dangerous currents, whose force increased due to heavy rain in the days prior.
González Piña had plans of reuniting with his parents in Texas and Exleiker González had dreams of finding a job in the United States to provide support for his three sons - a one-month-old, a three-year-old and an eight-year-old.
He had spent the last six years living in Medellín, Colombia, where he worked as a barber, according to his mother Andreina Martínez, who resides there as well.
She said that her son and González Piña developed a closed friendship during their journey through Central America and Mexico.
'He met Walter along the way and he helped my son a lot,' Martínez said.
Their deaths are among the more than 800 that have been registered by the U.S. Border Patrol along the southwestern international border line in fiscal year 2022, which began October 1, 2021 and concludes Friday, according to data obtained by NPR.
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