An impossible border to cross. Hundreds of Central American migrants attempted unsuccessfully on Monday, January 20, to force the border between Guatemala and Mexico.
Arriving early in the morning on the bank of the Suchiate river, on the border between the two countries, these men, women and children were hit by barrages of tear gas from the Mexican police deployed in large numbers .
Many of them have finally decided to turn back to Guatemala. About 200 people, who had successfully crossed the border and tried to reach the Mexican city of Tapachula (south) on foot, were also intercepted by the National Guard.
Jobs offered by Mexico
From Tecun Uman, a border town in the southwest of Guatemala where they had arrived in the past 24 hours by forming a caravan, the migrants had asked the authorities for permission to cross. In the absence of an answer, they began to cross the river along which the border runs, provoking the reaction of the security forces.
Mexican authorities on Saturday urged migrants to exercise "order and respect" ensuring that job opportunities exist in Mexico for those who will follow legal procedures. Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador offered 4,000 jobs to Central American migrants last week.
These migrants are part of a caravan of 3,543 people who left the city of San Pedro Sula in northern Honduras almost a week ago, according to the Guatemalan Institute for Migration. They crossed the border into Guatemala on Wednesday, determined to reach the United States.
With AFP
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