Thousands of migrants crash border

GUATEMALA CITY: Security forces in Guatemala will have special powers to disperse public gatherings after thousands of Central American migrants crossed the border without authorisation as part of a caravan aiming to reach the United States.

On Thursday morning (local time), more than 2000 caravan members, many wearing face masks, barged past armed Guatemalan troops at the border as they sought to escape poverty exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

The caravan is the biggest since the pandemic hit Central America in March, triggering rises in unemployment and poverty in economies that were already precarious.

It is likely to face challenges crossing through Mexico, where President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has deployed the National Guard to the border with Guatemala and dispersed previous caravans under pressure from the United States.