Migrant caravan organizers can’t get transportation by bus
White House praises decision by Mexican government
JUCHITAN, Mexico — Thousands of weary Central Americans in a migrant caravan aiming to reach the United States had their visions of quick transport hundreds of miles ahead to Mexico City dashed Wednesday as dozens of hoped-for buses failed to materialize.
The migrants took the day off from walking and hitching rides in packed trucks from small town to small town as representatives tried to negotiate rides for all 4,000 or so in hope of relief from the long and exhausting grind.
But as the day wore on there was no sign Mexican authorities intended to accede to the demand, and by evening leaders acknowledged it wasn’t going to happen.
“The attempt to travel by bus failed,” coordinator Walter Cuello said.
After spending the night at a city-owned property on the outskirts of the southern city of Juchitan, the migrants wandered around looking for something to eat as classic songs by Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez, known as “the king of ranchera music,” played in the background. Loudspeaker announcements discussed bathroom use and a prohibition on charging money to power their cellphones.
Red Cross personnel bandaged the swollen feet of Honduran farmer Omar Lopez, who had pounded the hot asphalt of highways every day for the last two weeks after spending nights on concrete sidewalks with just a thin sheet of plastic for cover. Lopez said playing soccer back home had given him stamina but the “exaggerated” walk has taken its toll.
“The sacrifice is worth the effort,” Lopez said. “I promised to buy my son a real motorcycle and I’m going to make good. I promised him many other things … not only things, I also want to give them education. Everything good costs money.”
A Guatemalan woman gave birth to the first known caravan baby at a hospital in Juchitan. Mexico’s governmental National Human Rights Commission said it had arranged for medical attention for the woman, who was 28 weeks pregnant, and the baby was healthy.
The plan for Thursday was to set out around 3 a.m., taking advantage of the cool predawn and morning temperatures to trek to Santa Maria Jalapa del Marques, about 35 miles to the west.
The migrants had not said what route they intended to take northward or where on the U.S. border they planned to reach, and Juchitan, still about 900 miles from U.S. soil, was something of a crossroads. Choosing Jalapa del Marques as the next destination appeared to indicate they were opting to travel via Oaxaca state’s eponymous capital instead of turning north toward the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, the latter a common transit route toward McAllen, Texas.
In Washington on Wednesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders praised Mexico for stopping the migrants from getting rides. “Mexico has stepped up in an unprecedented way,” Sanders told Fox News. “They have helped stop a lot of the transportation means of these individuals in these caravans, forcing them walking. They have helped us in new ways to slow this down, to break this up and keep it from moving as aggressively toward the United States.”
The Mexican government, has, in fact, taken a fairly contradictory stance on helping or hindering the first caravan, reflecting the country’s balancing act: Officials don’t want to irk Trump, but Mexicans themselves have long suffered mistreatment as migrants.