Their hope of reaching the United States is dwindling. Several thousand Honduran migrants forcibly entered Guatemala came up against the police and the Guatemalan authorities’ desire to make them return home on Sunday January 17.
The caravan, made up of at least 9,000 Hondurans divided into several contingents, advanced about 50 kilometers inside the country. Arrived in the town of Vado Hondo, in the department of Chiquimula, nearly 6,000 of them (according to police figures) clashed with the police and soldiers deployed there. Since Saturday evening, migrants have been stranded at this strategic point because of the rugged geography of the place.
But unlike Friday, when the police were unarmed and were overwhelmed by the flood of refugees at the El Florido border post, the police were, this time around, armed and equipped with riot equipment.
The deafening detonations of tear gas canisters and smoke pushed back thousands of people on the road, while others sought refuge in the nearby mountains. In their flight, some have dropped their belongings. Those who tried to cross the security force roadblock despite everything were clubbed.
According to a local health official, speaking on condition of anonymity, several people were injured.
A thousand people sent home
Many walkers have already been intercepted, according to the local migration service, which again asked them for papers and Covid test. Nearly a thousand of them were returned by bus and truck to the border with Honduras, including 163 children, the same source said. Shortly before the clashes, the Director General of Migration, Guillermo Diaz had warned on local television that a new forced passage, as at the border, would not take place. “Would not reproduce”.
These thousands of migrants had entered Guatemala between Friday evening and Saturday morning, at the El Florido border post, 220 kilometers east of the Guatemalan capital. The decision to open the border was made due to the presence of many families with children, according to a police official.
The Guatemalan authorities had announced the obligation to present legal documents and a negative PCR test. “Some groups have violated the regulations in force and have managed to cross into our territory, thus violating the legal provisions”, reacted the government of Guatemala on Saturday. He also called on Honduras to “Contain the massive departure of its inhabitants, through preventive actions on a permanent basis”. A request already formulated in October, when a caravan of about 4,000 migrants was dissolved in Guatemala.
After the 450 km to travel inside Guatemala, the new migrants should try to enter Mexico through the Tecun Uman border post (southwest), according to details provided by the migration authorities.
“We have neither work nor food”
The economic situation of many inhabitants of the small Central American country, subjected to the violence of gangs and drug traffickers, has deteriorated further with the passage of two powerful hurricanes in November and the consequences of the pandemic.
“We have no work or food, so I decided to go to the United States”, explained Dania Hinestrosa, 23, on the way with her daughter. The young woman who worked as a domestic worker left behind another three-year-old and four-year-old twins.
Migrants march in columns along the roads, backpack, and most with their faces masked to protect themselves from Covid-19. Some climb onto trucks to move faster. Many want to believe that Joe Biden will soften US migration policy, even though Washington has already warned them.
“Do not waste your time and your money and do not risk your safety or your health”US Customs and Border Protection official Mark A. Morgan said Thursday. Outgoing President Donald Trump on Friday declared a state of emergency on the border with Mexico, a measure first taken in February 2019. The Mexican government has warned that it “Would not allow illegal entry [sur son territoire] migrant caravans ”. Some 500 police officers have been dispatched to the border with Guatemala.
