Thousands of undocumented Hondurans force entry into Guatemala

MEXICO CITY – About 3,000 Honduran migrants on Thursday crossed into Guatemala, most of them illegally, Guatemala’s migration authority said.

Thousands of Hondurans had been trekking towards Guatemala in the hope of crossing into Mexico and from there to the United States, despite a

U.S. warning that their chances of reaching their destination were worse than ever.

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said the migrants had “violated” the border. Orders had been given to arrest illegal migrants and to take them back “to the border of their country,” he said on television.

The caravan of migrants fleeing poverty and violence was the first since Guatemala reopened its borders about two weeks ago, after a closure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The migrants took off, mostly on foot, from San Pedro Sula in northern Honduras late Wednesday, according to media reports.

They trekked with rucksacks on their backs, some pushing baby carriages, and some wearing face masks.

Many of them reached the Guatemalan border, where some managed to break through a police cordon and others crossed over by using illegal paths, Honduran and Guatemalan television reports said.

One migrant was killed when trying to climb on a moving truck, according to Guatemala’s migration authority.

Giammattei warned that the migrants could bring more coronavirus infections. “We shall not allow some foreigner who is using illegal means to enter this country to believe that he has the right to come to contaminate us and put us in serious danger,” the president said.

Guatemala requires a negative coronavirus test result and valid documents for entry into its territory. Mexico meanwhile denied rumors that it would let some migrants in.

“Today more than ever, it is more difficult to cross the U.S. border illegally. The voyage has become even more dangerous, given the current global COVID-19 pandemic,” the U.S. Embassy in Honduras said on Twitter.