Migrants vow to remain on bridge for as long as it takes
THOUSANDS of migrants making their way to the United States remain stuck on a river crossing between Guatemala and Mexico without food or water.
The migrants, part of a caravan of around 4,000 people, have vowed to remain on the bridge until Mexican authorities grant them entry, despite worsening conditions, with a growing pile of rubbish and no lavatories.
Tensions flared on the Suchiate River crossing late on Friday when the migrants attempted to force their way across the border and Mexican riot police threw tear gas at the crowd.
Many Hondurans, mostly men, swam across the river and remained on the riverbank on the Mexican side of the border yesterday, waiting for the rest of the caravan to cross.
Around 200 people who managed to cross, mainly women and children, were taken to an immigration centre, where their details were recorded. They were later transported to a convention centre in Tapachula, which has been turned into a makeshift shelter.
The remaining migrants have moved about 30ft back from the Mexican border gate, to avoid repeating the chaos caused on Friday night. Selvin Flores, 35, a Honduran shopkeeper, said people who “were causing disorder” had been expelled from the group and handed over to Guatemalan police.
The caravan formed last Saturday in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and arrived in Guatemala on Monday. Members of the group have said they are bound for the US, seeking work and fleeing political corruption and violence.
President Donald Trump has threatened to shut down America’s southwest border if Mexico does not halt the group, despite the impact it would have on trade flow between the two countries. He has also repeated a threat to suspend foreign aid to the governments of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador if they fail to act. As he campaigns for Republican candidates ahead of next month’s midterm elections, Mr Trump has said that tackling immigration is far more important to him than trade.
The president yesterday blamed “obstructionist” Democrats for the failure to tackle the issue. “We could write up and agree to new immigration laws in less than one hour. Look at the needless pain and suffering that they are causing. Look at the horrors taking place on the border,” he said.
On Friday night, tensions and scuffles erupted as exhausted Hondurans, many of whom are travelling with young children, braced themselves to spend the night on the bridge. Heidy Marleny Castro, 44, who is travelling with her two youngest children, aged 8 and 13, said: “We’re going to stay here until we get help, no matter how long it takes. If we need to endure hunger and thirst, so be it,” she said.
With 3,791 murders in 2017 (a murder rate of 42.8 per 100,000 inhabitants), Honduras is one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
Some Hondurans in the caravan said they would be willing to apply for working visas in Mexico, after Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the presidentelect, promised to provide job opportunities to Central Americans.
“If we are given the opportunity to reach Mexico, at least we’ll be in a safer place”, said Mrs Castro. “We’re here because we have no other choice. We want a better life for our children.”
‘If we are given the opportunity to reach Mexico, at least we’ll be in a safer place’