Mexico: stop of a caravan on the way to the United States

In southern Mexico, police have stopped the caravan with thousands of people from Central America at the moment. Officials blocked the road between the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca, in the south of the country, as reported in the newspaper "Milenio". The purpose is to explain to migrants the government's offer of help, said a police spokesman.

Previously, the Government of Mexico had offered badistance to populations in Central America. "We want all migrants to feel safe," President Enrique Pena Nieto said yesterday in a video. Central Americans should have access to health care, send their children to school and work. The precondition for Mexico's offer is that people stay in the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca, in the south of the country, and make a request for legal entry or asylum . At first, however, the people concerned rejected the offer.

Dozens of arrests

At present, thousands of Hondurans, El Salvador and Guatemala cross Mexico to the United States. People are fleeing the violence of youth gangs and the poor economic situation in the region.

Previously, the Mexican police in the south of the country had arrested dozens of migrants. They illegally crossed the Suchiate border river between Guatemala and Mexico on Friday, authorities said. According to official figures, they were reportedly taken to an immigration office in the city of Tapachula, where they could apply for asylum.

Strengths of the hard line

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has already announced that he does not want to let people in the country, which has made it a public problem. Similar migrations of large groups almost every year – but still below the international threshold of perception.

Trump spoke of an "attack on our country". If necessary, the army should stop them at the border. Defense Minister James Mattis yesterday approved support for border guards. Recently, the US president also said that people from the Middle East were among the protesters, thus introducing unfair motives for his march to the United States. He has not provided any evidence on this subject.

According to reports, the US president plans to declare a "national emergency" for the group of migrants and deny them asylum. It is not clear whether this would be consistent with US or international law. The New York Times reported that Trump wanted to explain his plans in a speech next Tuesday. It would be exactly one week before the important congressional elections.