Patience frays within caravan
Anger at organizers as buses don’t arrive
ISLA, Mexico — Patience among 4,000 Central American migrants appeared to be wearing thin yesterday as exhausted members of the caravan journeying toward the United States openly disagreed with organizers who are shepherding the group through southern Mexico. Several thousand migrants opted to rest in the towns of Juan Rodriguez Clara and Isla, in Veracruz state, about 40 miles from their previous rest stop. Another contingent splintered off by hitchhiking rides and walking to Tierra Blanca, Veracruz, which lies about 80 miles farther north. Many said they no longer had faith in those organizing the large group after confusion broke out regarding buses that would have taken migrants on a route to Mexico City. On Friday, Veracruz Gov. Miguel Angel Yunes reneged on a brief offer to provide transportation, saying that it would not be correct to send the migrants because Mexico City’s water system was undergoing maintenance and 7 million of its people would be without water over the weekend. In the lapse between his decisions, organizers told members of the caravan that buses would indeed be available, causing some migrants to go to sleep with the impression that they should wake up early to stake out a place in line. Human rights activist Ernesto Castaneda said there’s still a possibility that bulk trans- portation will be arranged soon. But as migrants struggle with exhaustion, blisters, sickness, and swollen feet hundreds of miles from the closest U.S. border, tempers flared within their ranks. “People are mad and confused,” said Saira Cabrera, a 36-year-old traveling with her husband and two children ages 7 and 13. It remained to be seen if the group would stick together and continue employing the ‘strength in numbers’ strategy which has enabled them to mobilize through Mexico and inspire subsequent migrant caravans to try their luck. On Friday, another caravan — this time from El Salvador — waded over the Suchiate River into Mexico, bringing 1,000 to 1,500 people who want to reach the U.S. border.