New migrant caravan heads to Mexico
Hundreds bound for U.S. trek through Guatemala
AGUA CALIENTE, Guatemala — More than 1,700 Hondurans were walking and hitchhiking through Guatemala on Wednesday, heading toward the Mexico border as part of a new caravan of migrants hoping to reach the United States.
The migrants passed through the Agua Caliente border crossing under the watchful eyes of about 200 police and soldiers.
Some migrants told The Associated Press that they crossed informally elsewhere.
Guatemala’s National Immigration Institute said there were 325 children or youths under 18 in the caravan. There were also just more than 100 people from El Salvador.
Miria Zelaya, who left the Honduran city of Colon and was traveling with 12 relatives, said she did not know what sort of work she hopes to find in the United States but was not dismayed by tougher immigration policies under President Donald Trump.
“That does not discourage me,” Zelaya said. “The need is greater.”
Migrants leaving Central America’s Northern Triangle nations of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala routinely cite widespread poverty, lack of opportunity and rampant gang violence as their motivation.
Many in the group registered for 90-day visas in Guatemala, saying they felt it would offer peace of mind on the 300-mile trek to Mexico’s southern border.
Hector Alvarado, a 25-year-old announcer, said he had been shut out of job opportunities for belonging to the political opposition and felt forced to leave to find work. He learned about the caravan on Facebook, said goodbye to relatives and hit the road.
Also Wednesday about 100 migrants set out as a group from the capital of El Salvador, hoping to join the larger group from Honduras. Their numbers represent less than a third of the estimated 350 migrants who leave El Salvador each day.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Wednesday that Mexico has been monitoring the latest caravan closely.
He said the best option is for Central American governments to persuade their citizens to stay.
Those who don’t will be allowed to enter Mexico in an orderly fashion and presented with options, and their human rights will be respected, Lopez Obrador added.