As the thousands of individuals are heading north towards Mexico and the United States border, Guatemala security forces are attempting to block thousands of Honduran migrants who will cross to their country.
Police and soldiers in riot gear on Sunday confronted a caravan of migrants from Honduras on a highway in the southeastern part of Guatemala, in Chiquimula.
The surging crowd broke through a phalanx of soldiers, after a tense standoff, wherein the police fired tear gas and attempted to beat back the migrants with batons.
Top Immigration official of Guatemala, Guillermo Diaz, shared that since Friday 7,000-8,000 Hondurans have crossed into Guatemala which is an irregular thing.
On the Facebook page of the department of Diaz, he shared a video and emphasized that they are very concerned regarding the situation, NPR reported.
Diaz also added that these individuals who have formed this caravan or are forming into a caravan, which is a very difficult situation to manage.
Due to the current situation concerning the immigrants, Guatemala has set up checkpoints on main roads that are leading to and from the border of Honduras.
Este es el panorama en el Kilómetro 177, Vado Hondo, Chiquimula. El segundo grupo de migrantes hondureños se abre paso en territorio guatemalteco pic.twitter.com/J9Dr8y0Yi1
— Lucero Sapalú (@Lsapalu_elP) January 16, 2021
Guatemala Police and National Civil Police use batons and tear gas on US-bound migrant caravan. pic.twitter.com/4HwzqVTui2
— The Hill (@thehill) January 17, 2021
However, the Top Immigration Guatemalan official mentioned that many of the migrants have left the main roads as they are currently arriving in towns in the middle of the Guatemala.
In addition, officials of Guatemala are very worried, as another group of close to the same number of individuals is already on its way to their border.
Diaz emphasized that he is hoping that this situation and the flow of migrants end.
Authorities of Mexico have praised the forceful response of the Guatemalan government to the migrants, ABC reported via MSN.
The Mexican government also doubled up on their security on its southern border with Guatemala in anticipation of the migrant caravan.
Not only Guatemala has taken extra action on the said movement from Honduran migrants, as Mexico also sent six buses to the south in order to help transport Hondurans back to their home country.
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The Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Mexico issued a statement which calls on for officials of Honduras to exert more effort in stopping the irregular flow of their citizens through the region.
However, migrants coming from the caravan shared that they have a little choice but to march north.
A migrant, Anna Murillo, shared that they do not want to live in Honduras anymore.
Spring the interview, while standing alongside a group of migrants beside a busy road in southern Guatemala, she says Hondurans have been badly affected by weather conditions hurricanes Eta and Iota, which wiped a huge portion of the country in November.
Not only destructive weather conditions have damaged the country as Honduras also is suffering from incredibly high rates of violent crime and the pandemic has crippled the economy, KPBs reported.
Murillo also emphasized that there is no work and no opportunities in their place in Honduras.
She also added that they are leaving because they do not want to suffer further.
Moreover, another migrant, Miguel Angel, shared that he is heading north because he believes the immigration policy of the United States will change once Joe Biden takes office as president.
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