Honduran migrant caravan rumbles on through Guatemala

Authorities in Guatemala say 1,350 Hondurans have submitted documentation to pass through the country, in bid to join hundreds of others heading for US.

Honduran migrants walk near Esquipulas, Chiquimula department, Guatemala, on January 16, 2020, after crossing the border in Agua Caliente from Honduras on their way to the US.
AFP

Honduran migrants walk near Esquipulas, Chiquimula department, Guatemala, on January 16, 2020, after crossing the border in Agua Caliente from Honduras on their way to the US.

More than 1,000 Honduran migrants broke through a police barrier on the border with Guatemala on Thursday in a bid to join hundreds of others heading for the United States.

The migrants, many fleeing poverty and gang violence at home, passed through a police cordon without difficulty and without going through migration protocol at the southeastern city of Agua Caliente.

The migrants, including some children, left San Pedro Sula in northern Honduras on Tuesday night and from Wednesday began entering Guatemala.

The latest Central American migrant caravan formed despite increased attempts by President Donald Trump to keep them out of the US.

Last year the US signed a deal with Guatemala that obliges migrants travelling through that country and seeking asylum in the US to first request protection in the Central American nation.

Heading towards American dream

Authorities in Guatemala say 1,350 Hondurans have submitted the necessary documentation to pass through either the Agua Caliente checkpoint in the southeast or El Cinchado in the northeast.

"We're heading on towards the American dream," Kelvin Ramos told AFP from a migrant center at the border town of Esquipulas.

"I've heard they pay well in the United States to paint houses," he added. That was his job in Honduras.

Many migrants that pass the El Cinchado border split up at that point, the local human rights department spokeswoman, Aleida Serrato, told AFP.

"It's better to walk [and] flee the country," said Mariano de Jesus as he waited to cross into Guatemala, while blaming Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez for his country's troubles.

De Jesus used to work as a builder's assistant but said his job "is worth nothing."

Trump's pressure on neighbours

Thousands of Central Americans from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala started forming migrant caravans heading for the US towards the end of 2018.

It angered Trump — who while campaigning for election vowed to build a wall along the southern US border with Mexico to keep out migrants — so much that he threatened punitive measures against Central American governments if they did not stem the tide.

Last year, Trump sent 6,000 troops to the southern border with Mexico and warned of an "invasion" of gang members and criminals.

Around 30,000 Honduran migrants remain in Mexico waiting for a response to their US asylum requests.

New Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei, who was sworn in on Tuesday, said on Wednesday that he would not allow the Honduran migrants to cross into Mexico.

Route 6