Trump warns Honduras over migrant caravan now in Guatemala

ESQUIPULAS, GUATEMALA >> U.S. 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 the entire previous day, 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 (150 kilometers) east of Guatemala City, to receive a blessing, before continuing the journey escorted by Guatemalan police.

The group’s numbers have snowballed since some 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 at this point 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.