Central America: forced return to square one for Honduran migrants

Tecun Uman border post, between Guatemala and Mexico, October 3: Honduran migrants were blocked by patrols of Guatemalan soldiers and asked to board buses bound for Honduras.

REUTERS / Jose Torres

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The thousands of Honduran migrants who crossed Guatemala with destination Mexico and then the United States had to resolve to the dislocation of their caravan and its dislocation.

They are repatriated by the Guatemalan authorities.

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Left Wednesday evening in a human caravan from San Pedro Sula, the second city of Honduras, more than 2,000 Hondurans - mostly young people - who wanted to go to the United States finally requested their repatriation, according to the presidency of Guatemala.

They had been blocked in their march by roadblocks and the Mexican border had been locked by the police and the army.

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: Caravan of migrants: Mexico deploys soldiers at its border with Guatemala

Arrived at the Tecun Uman border post with Mexico, a group of about 80 visibly tired migrants were gathered next to military buses and trucks bearing the inscription “voluntary return”, AFP journalists noted.

Humanitarian workers from the Red Cross were distributing food rations and health protection masks to migrants.

Guatemala's President Alejandro Giammattei on Thursday evening ordered the arrest and expulsion of some 3,000 Honduran migrants who had just forced their way across the country's border in the hope of reaching the United States, citing in particular the health risk caused by migrants.

Somos respetuosos del derecho humano de migrar, pero no seremos tolerantes de la forma violenta e ilegal de ingresar a nuestro país. # GuatemalaNoSeDetiene

  Alejandro Giammattei (@DrGiammattei) October 2, 2020

The Guatemalan president had also accused the migrants of having forced the border.

Guatemala reopened its sea, land and air borders on September 18, closed for six months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but foreigners wanting to enter must comply with health protocols to prove that they are not carriers of the disease. virus.

As in previous caravans, migrants cite unemployment, poor 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.

Honduras is one of the

: more than 70% of the population lives below the poverty line, especially in rural areas.

Organized crime, corruption and weak institutions are all factors that contribute to fostering inequalities and pushing people into exile.

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: In Central America, the coronavirus worsens poverty

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• Guatemala

• Honduras

• Mexico

• International Migration

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