The Associated Press reports that hundreds of mostly Honduran migrants are marching their way towards the U.S. border. The group left the city of San Pedro Sula and splintered into smaller groups as the caravan reached the Guatemalan border. It's not clear if the smaller groups plan on merging back into one larger caravan.
(Via the Associated Press)
In his first full day in office, Guatemala’s new president, Alejandro Giammattei, said the Hondurans would be allowed to enter Guatemala, which they must cross to reach Mexico and the United States.
Giammattei said travel agreements between Central American nations required Guatemala to grant the migrants passage.
“We cannot prevent people who have identification” from entering, Giammattei said. “We are going to ask for their papers from the parents of guardians in the caravan, and if they don’t have them they will be returned to Honduras. We have to protect the rights of children.”
Most countries don’t allow minors to travel without the consent of their parents or guardians, and some participants in past caravans have traveled with children who are not theirs.
Giammattei also said he had met with Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard on Wednesday morning and been told that Mexico would not allow the caravan to advance into its territory.
“The Mexican government advised us that it is not going to let them pass ... that it is going to use everything in its hands to keep them from passing,” Giammattei said.
The Mexican government has been under pressure by the Trump administration to stop facilitating the invasion of U.S. bound migrants at our southern border. In late May, President Trump announced tariffs targeting Mexico as a result of Mexico's failure to help stem the flow of migrants passing through the country. The tariffs never took effect because the Mexican government made additional commitments to stop migrants from reaching the United States, commitments that Mexico has so far honored.
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"The truth is, it is going to be impossible for [the migrants] to reach the United States," Itsmania Platero, a human rights activist told the Associated Press. "The Mexican police have a large contingent and they are going to catch all the migrants without documents and they will be detained and returned to their home countries."
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