Caravan of migrants: Mexico deploys military on border with Guatemala
A group of Honduran migrants, who are part of the caravan heading for the United States, waves a flag of the country, near Izabal in Guatemala, on October 2, 2020. Johan ORDONEZ / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The country has deployed troops along its border with Guatemala upon news of the arrival of the caravan of Honduran migrants who are currently crossing the territory.
They try to join the United States, defying the threats of arrest of the Guatemalan president.
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"
There will be hundreds of members of the immigration services, the National Guard and the armed forces, They will not pass,
" Francisco Garduño, director of the National Institute of Migration, told the press on Friday ( INM) of
Mexico
, calling on migrants to “
respect immigration law
”.
Earlier in the morning, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had suggested that this caravan of Honduran migrants was "
formed
" with the aim of involving Mexico in the US presidential campaign.
According to images broadcast by local televisions, immigration officials and the military patrol the banks of the Suchiate River, which separates Mexico and Guatemala and flows into the Pacific Ocean.
The crossing point on the Rodolfo Robles border bridge, leading to Ciudad Hidalgo, is closed by a fence.
300 migrants turn around
About 300 candidates for the American dream have decided to turn back after the arrest and deportation order issued by the President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei.
However, the caravan of some 3,000 Honduran migrants continued on Friday through Guatemala.
In small dispersed groups, some head for the capital Guatemala Ciudad, to then reach the Suchiate river in the south of the country.
Others are heading north, AFP journalists noted.
The caravan set off on the night of Wednesday to Thursday from San Pedro Sula, Honduras' second city, 180 km north of Tegucigalpa.
The candidates for the trip are fleeing poverty and violence in their country.
From unemployment to coronavirus
As in
previous caravans
, migrants cited unemployment, failing education and health services, and gang violence to explain their flight.
Reasons to which are now added the economic and social consequences of the coronavirus.
Guatemala reopened its sea, land and air borders on September 18, which were closed for six months due to the pandemic.
The country had some 93,090 coronavirus cases and 3,267 deaths on Friday, according to the Guatemalan health ministry.
with agencies
►
Read also: At least 3,000 Honduran migrants, en route to the United States, enter Guatemala
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