Trump warns of aid cuts over migrant caravan

CHIQUIMULA, Guatemala — U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to cut aid to three Central American nations if they let people travel to the U.S. illegally, reacting to a caravan of 2,000 migrants advancing through Guatemala with hopes of reaching the U.S. border.

Late Tuesday, Trump said via Twitter that the U.S. had conveyed the same message to the governments of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, telling them that U.S. aid will stop if they allow migrants to travel from or across their countries with the intent of entering the United States without permission.

“Anybody entering the United States illegally will be arrested and detained, prior to being sent back to their country!” he added.

As the president posted his messages, the migrants continued their trek. Despite having walked all day Monday with swollen, blistered feet, the group rose shortly after sunrise from sleeping on the ground in their clothes in the town of Esquipulas. Dozens attended Mass at the basilica in the city just across the border from Honduras and about 150 kilometres east of Guatemala City.

The migrants resumed their journey escorted by Guatemalan police and covered about 50 km to arrive in the town of Chiquimula for the night.

The group’s numbers have snowballed since about 160 migrants departed Friday from the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, with many people joining spontaneously carrying just a few belongings. A Guatemalan priest estimated more than 2,000 were fed at three shelters run by the Roman Catholic Church.

Trump did not follow through on a similar threat to Honduras in April over an earlier caravan, which petered out in Mexico.