Trump threatens to cut off aid
CHIQUIMULA, Guatemala — 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 some 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.
Amid the tweeting, the migrants continued their trek.
Dozens attended Mass at the basilica in the city just across the border from Honduras and about 90 miles east of Guatemala City. The migrants resumed their journey escorted by Guatemalan police and covered some 30 miles 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.
Earlier Tuesday, Trump had aimed his threat at Honduras.
However, the Central American nation’s ability to do anything appeared limited as the migrants 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 in Mexico.
In a statement, Honduras’ Foreign Ministry accused unidentified “political sectors” of organizing the caravan with “false promises” of a transit visa through Mexico and the opportunity to seek asylum in the United States.
It urged the migrants not to let themselves “be used by a movement that is obviously political and seeks to upset governability, stability and peace in Honduras and the United States.”
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.