Guatemala sends over 3,000 Honduran migrants home from caravan
Reuters
Published Oct 03, 2020 23:36
By Sofia Menchu
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemalan authorities sent more than 3,000 Honduran migrants back to their home country over the past few days, they said on Saturday, dissolving much of a caravan heading north and blaming Honduras for not doing more to block the migrants' path.
Thousands of caravan members had crossed into Guatemala from Honduras without authorization last Thursday, pushing past troops at the border as they sought to escape poverty exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
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.
Vice Minister of Foreign Relations Eduardo Sanchez called on the government of neighboring Honduras to step up efforts to stop the flow of migrants headed to the United States, calling the caravan a health risk amid the pandemic.
Honduras has not "assumed the responsibility to take preventative actions to avoid the problem," Sanchez said in a statement.
Honduras' Vice Foreign Minister Nelly Jerez said the government was working to prevent people from migrating illegally, including efforts to improve the economy and security.
On Saturday morning, the Honduran migration institute said it had registered 533 people who returned after setting out for Guatemala.
On Friday, the migrants trekking north had split into two groups, one headed for Guatemala's Peten region, and the other for the Mexican border city of Tapachula.
It was not immediately clear if any migrants from those clusters were pressing on.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has taken steps to curb illegal immigration so as to avoid clashing with his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, has suggested that the caravan's departure from Honduras had been timed to coincide with the U.S. election.
Mexican migration authorities have warned that any migrants who were to knowingly put others at risk of infection could face jail.
Trump insulted and threatened Mexico repeatedly in his 2015-16 election campaign and has made cracking down on illegal immigration a priority during his presidency.
Get The App
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.