Several thousand fake refugees poured across the border from Honduras to Guatemala on the night of January 15th. The video below shows some of them crossing. Below that, there is an article that has been translated from Spanish into English, which claims more than 6,000 crossed and 3,000 more are reportedly on the way. In the video, the police at first block the asylum fraudsters, but then later step aside and allow them to cross the border without proper documents or Covid-19 test results.
Note that two international agencies, the United Nations and Red Cross, are providing assistance to the asylum fraudsters in their trip north to the promised land. The is the second caravan that has crossed in recent days. The first one was much smaller and is already in Mexico. The Mexico has sent hundreds of national guardsmen to the border, reportedly to attempt to stop this crossing.
Migrant caravan: more than 6 thousand Hondurans entered Guatemala and rest in the country before continuing to the United States.
Thousands of migrants who travel on foot from Honduras to the United States were moving through Guatemala this Saturday, January 16, preparing to go to Mexico, the next obstacle to overcome in search of better living conditions, which they long to receive from the future government of Joe Biden.
On the night of Friday, January 15, some 6,000 migrants managed to cross the border line in El Florido, 220 km east of Guatemala City, after yielding to police controls. The figure was provided by the Guatemalan Migration Institute.
On the morning of Saturday, January 16, there were still more migrants gathering at that border crossing to enter, according to official reports.
Despite the fact that a decree empowered the police to use force to contain the advance on Friday, the decision to open the way was made after verifying that there were many families with children in the group, according to what a police chief told AFP. The caravan ignored the requirement to present documents and a negative COVID-19 test.
Numbers Growing
In a report presented this Saturday, January 16, at 11:15 a.m., staff from the Guatemalan Migration Institute indicated that they expect more than 3,000 Hondurans to come the next day.
That would raise the figure and register 9 thousand Honduran migrants in the national territory (Guatemala) in less than 48 hours.
The Road to Mexico
After resting in the surroundings, several groups entered Guatemalan territory, reaching Jocotán, Chiquimula department, bordering Honduras. Some went in search of institutions to support migrants, and others received support from the Red Cross and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
“I decided to go to the United States because in my country there is no work, there is nothing, and I have to leave because the pandemic and hurricanes destroyed the country,” 20-year-old Honduran Carlos Flores explained to AFP.
The migrants say they are fleeing a Honduras heavily hit by the passage of hurricanes Eta and Iota in November and the lack of employment caused by the pandemic, which adds to the endemic evils of a country riddled by violence associated with gangs and the drug trafficking.
Almost all carry backpacks with their few belongings and most of them wear sandals. On the way, it is common to hear them chanting “out JOH”, the initials of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, whom they blame for their situation.
“I have come on foot, penniless, suffering. Thank God we are now going here in Guatemala, now to leave (to the United States) ”, Agustina RodrĂguez, 40, told the press.
Most of them left at dawn on Friday from the San Pedro Sula bus station, in northern Honduras, the usual starting point of caravans.
“We came about 400 (in his group), some grabbed from other sides, they all scattered. I had to go through some rivers with the wet clothes that I wear there. When they have given us food, we have eaten and, when not, we have endured hunger ”, added Agustina.
Most go on foot and some ask for a “hitchhiking” ride. On their way, they will still run into several police control checkpoints within Guatemala before reaching the border with Mexico, which has already announced that “it will not allow the irregular entry of caravans of migrants” and deployed 500 agents in Chiapas and Tabasco, border states with Guatemala.
After traveling 450 km within Guatemala, the bulk of the caravan will try to enter Mexico through the border crossing of Tecún Umán (southwest), according to the Migration Office.
Border Emergency
Many participants in this caravan are convinced that Joe Biden, who assumes the presidency of the United States on January 20, will be more flexible than his predecessor, Donald Trump, with the immigration rules.
But Washington has already ruled out the possibility of special treatment. “Don’t waste your time and money and don’t risk your health and safety.” “It’s a deadly trip,” said Acting Commissioner of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Mark A. Morgan.
Trump himself extended the “national emergency” on the border with Mexico on Friday, first imposed in February 2019 to unlock funds and build his much-heralded wall.
“More action is needed to address the humanitarian crisis and control illegal migration and the flow of narcotics and criminals,” said a statement from the White House.
More than a dozen caravans, some with thousands of migrants, have left Honduras since October 2018, but have encountered thousands of US military and border guards positioned on the southern border with Mexico by Trump.
However, through calls on social networks they insist on making this long journey that, if completed, will have made them travel more than 5,000 km (3,000 miles).
