Warning from Trump
President says aid at stake as caravan reaches Guatemala
President Donald Trump threatens to cut aid to Honduras if it doesn’t stop a caravan of 2,000 migrants fleeing poverty and violence in hopes of reaching the U.S.
ESQUIPULAS, Guatemala — President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to cut aid to Honduras if it doesn’t stop a caravan of some 2,000 migrants, even as they resumed their northward trek through Guatemala with hopes of reaching the U.S. border.
Despite having walked all day Monday with swollen, blistered and aching feet, the group was up shortly after sunrise after sleeping on the ground in their clothes.
Dozens attended Mass at the Basilica in the city of Esquipulas, just across the border from Honduras and about 90 miles east of Guatemala City, before continuing the journey escorted by Guatemalan police.
Tough U.S. response
The group’s numbers have snowballed since about 160 migrants departed Friday from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, with many people joining spontaneously carrying just a few belongings. A Guatemalan priest estimated that more than 2,000 had been fed at three shelters run by the Roman Catholic Church.
Three weeks before midterm elections in the United States, the caravan elicited a tough response from Trump.
“The United States has strongly informed the President of Honduras that if the large Caravan of people heading to the U.S. is not stopped and brought back to Honduras, no more money or aid will be given to Honduras, effective immediately,” Trump tweeted.
However, the Central American nation’s ability to do anything appeared limited, as the migrants had already crossed into Guatemala on Monday, twice pushing past outnumbered police sent to stop them — first at the border and then at a roadblock outside Esquipulas.
Trump did not follow through on a similar threat to the Central American nation in April over an earlier caravan, which eventually petered out.
There was no immediate public response from the Honduran government. In late September, in a speech at the U.N. General Assembly, President Juan Orlando Hernandez defended migrants, criticizing their treatment in detention centers and the separation of children from their families — without explicitly naming the United States.
“Migration is a human right,” Hernandez said. “For centuries human beings have moved and emigrated and have contributed to the social and economic development of the nations that have taken them in, in search of better opportunities. We in Honduras and the Central American region are not an exception.”
Meanwhile, Mexico’s immigration authority sent out a fresh warning late Monday that only those who meet entry requirements would be allowed into the country and each migrant would have to satisfy Mexican migration agents. Hondurans need visas to visit Mexico in most cases.
Fleeing poverty, violence
Still, it remains unclear if Mexico and other governments in the region — many of whose own people are migrants — would have the political will to physically halt the determined border-crossers, who are fleeing widespread poverty and violence in one of the world’s most murderous countries.
“In Honduras there are no jobs, and the jobs that do exist aren’t enough to live on,” said Jose Francisco Hernandez, a 32-year-old from Copan state in western Honduras. “We can’t go to the city because it is full of gang members, and that is hurting us. We decided to migrate from the country to see if we can find a better life.”
Last week, Vice President Mike Pence urged leaders in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala to persuade their citizens to stay home and avoid the long, risky journey to the United States.
Since 2014, the United States has committed $2.6 billion in aid for Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. For 2019, Washington has earmarked $65.7 million in aid to Honduras for security, democracy building, human rights and economic and social development programs.