Guatemala sends Honduran migrants back

GUATEMALA sent more than 3,000 Honduran migrants back to their home country over the past few days, the country said on Saturday, dissolving much of a caravan heading north even while dwindling groups continued the trek toward the United States.

Thousands of caravan members had crossed into Guatemala from Honduras without authorisation last Thursday, pushing past troops at the border as they sought to escape poverty.

As many as 2,800 people crossed the border in the initial incident, according to Guatemala’s government. Since then and on Saturday, 3,586 migrants had “opted to return”, the government said.

Some appeared to press on toward Mexico. By Saturday evening, some 150 migrants were at a shelter in Tecun Uman, close to the Mexico border, while about 200 migrants were on the road in the Izabal region, between Honduras and Peten, Guatemalan migration authorities said.

Eduardo Hernandez, the vice minister of foreign relations, said Honduras had not “assumed the responsibility to take preventative actions to avoid the problem”. Nelly Jerez, Honduras’s vice foreign minister, said the government was working to prevent people from migrating illegally, including efforts to improve the economy and security.