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A caravan of about 2,000 Central American migrants, mostly from Honduras, continued to head to the southern US border, despite threats made by President Donald Trump this week.
Currently, the group is crossing Guatemala and it is unclear whether it will be allowed to enter Mexico, according to the Associated Press. The Mexican government has reiterated that only those who travel with the required visas would be allowed to enter the border, but it is unclear whether migrants have the required clearance.
The group traveled up to 30 miles in one day, getting up early to continue their journey. The group was spending Wednesday near Chiquimula, Guatemala, several days on foot from the Mexican border, Fox News reported. Although some migrants are allowed to enter Mexico, it will probably take many days to travel the distance to the US border.
Those who join the caravan are fleeing economic instability and social insecurity. Although the crime rate in Honduras has apparently decreased, the homicide rate remains one of the highest in the world.
The caravan left Honduras last week and is no longer under the jurisdiction of Tegucigalpa, but Trump threatened the Central American nation via Twitter on Monday, saying the United States would cut all aid to the country if it did not stop migrants. He then followed up on that threat, also warning Guatemala and El Salvador that "all payments made to them will be interrupted" if they "allow their citizens, or others, to cross their borders and up to the United States ".
Although nations generally can not prevent citizens from leaving their borders, unless they have committed a crime or are under investigation, neighboring nations could prevent foreign migrants from crossing their territory. Guatemala initially blocked the Honduran caravan on Monday, but finally allowed it to enter. Hondurans are not required to obtain a visa to enter Guatemala.
The caravan of migrants is still a few weeks from the US border and will probably have difficulties to move to Mexico. Nevertheless, Vice President Mike Pence also warned Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez that the caravan should be stopped. "More help if the caravan is not stopped," writes Pence on Twitter. "[I] told him that the United States would not tolerate this flagrant disregard for our borders and our sovereignty, "he added.
As Vox pointed out, it is unclear how the Honduran government could actually stop the caravan now that it has left its territory, unless there is a military invasion of Guatemala. Such a scenario is not considered a realistic or probable possibility.
Trump took a uncompromising position against immigration since he took power. His policies sparked considerable controversy this summer when national and international media shared images of thousands of migrant children separated from their parents. While the president has always insisted on building a multi-billion dollar wall along the southern border of the United States, the proposal was not retained by Congress, with most experts saying it would be exorbitant and ineffective.
Earlier this month, Trump and Mexico's elected president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who will take up office in December, have spoken by phone about a $ 30 billion development plan aimed at reducing the number of people living in poverty. Immigration from Central America and Mexico to the United States. Trump tweeted: "Excellent call, we will work well together," suggesting that he supported the idea.
If the plan goes forward, this would represent a significant increase over the current level of US assistance to Central America. Since 2014, Washington has committed about $ 2.6 billion for Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, according to the Associated Press. In 2019, $ 65.7 million in aid for the construction of democracy, human rights, economic and social development, and security was earmarked for Honduras.
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