[ad_1]
ISLA, Mexico (AP) – Hundreds of migrants from a caravan of 4,000 people crossing southern Mexico and heading to the US border broke up Saturday, following a broken promise transport by bus.
Patience seemed to be out of breath among the exhausted hikers after Veracruz's governor, Miguel Angel Yunes, gave up an offer Friday to provide buses to allow migrants to cross the border with the capital. The spirits ignited as migrants struggled with exhaustion, blisters, sickness and swollen feet.
The organizers of the caravan have pleaded for buses in recent days after three weeks of driving, riding and walking. The group dispersed Saturday in several cities in Veracruz, raising the question of whether they would stay together.
Several thousand people planned to spend the night in Isla, about 1,126 kilometers south of the US border, while another important contingent was hanging on Juan Rodriguez Clara and another was arriving. in Tierra Blanca, 129 kilometers to the north.
In one statement, the migrants criticized the Mexican authorities for having directed them north through the state of Veracruz on the Gulf Coast, calling it "the road to death". Some migrants realized that they were near the metropolises of Puebla and Mexico City, where they wanted to rest and receive medical care.
A hike through the sugar cane fields and orchards of Veracruz takes them to a state where hundreds of migrants have disappeared in recent years, plagued by kidnappers seeking ransom.
Authorities in Veracruz said in September they found the remains of at least 174 people buried in clandestine graves. Some security experts have wondered whether these bodies belong to migrants.
Ibis Villanueva, 32, said that he had decided to go out alone for Puebla because he felt frustrated by the lack of organization of the caravan.
"We do not believe the coordinators anymore.Yesterday, they said that we were going by bus, today no," said the Sudanese welder from Honduras.
Gerardo Perez, a 20-year-old migrant, said that he was tired. "They play with our dignity, if you could only see the happiness of the people last night, they told us that we were going by bus and that today we are not," did he declare.
The caravan's "strength of the number" strategy enabled them to mobilize support as they crossed Mexico and encouraged migrants to come and try their luck via caravan.
Mexico is now facing the unprecedented situation of three caravans stretching over 500 km of highways in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Veracruz, with a total of more than 6,000 migrants.
On Friday, a caravan from El Salvador crossed the Suchiate River in Mexico, bringing 1,000 to 1,500 people to reach the US border.
This caravan first tried to cross the bridge between Guatemala and Mexico, but the Mexican authorities told them that they should show their passports and visas and enter in groups of 50 to be processed.
Another caravan, which also numbers between 1,000 and 1,500 people, entered Mexico earlier this week and is currently in Chiapas. This group includes Hondurans, Salvadorans and some Guatemalans.
On 19 October, the first and largest group of migrants, mainly Hondurans, entered Mexico. At its peak, this caravan has grown to 7,000 participants.
Mexican officials seem to be in conflict about whether to help or hinder their trip.
Immigration officers and police sometimes arrested migrants in smaller caravans. Pressure was also exerted on the main caravan. Federal police intercepted trucks of goods and forced migrants to leave, claiming that it was dangerous to hang on top or alongside the trucks.
But several mayors have rolled out the welcome mat for migrants who have reached their city – organizing food and camping sites. According to the Department of the Interior of Mexico, nearly 3,000 migrants from the first caravan asked to be refugees in Mexico and hundreds more returned home.
With or without the help of the government, uncertainty awaits.
President Donald Trump has commanded US troops on the Mexican border in response to caravans. More than 7,000 active duty soldiers were deployed in Texas, Arizona and California before the mid-term elections.
He plans to sign an order next week that could lead to large-scale detention of migrants crossing the southern border and prohibit anyone illegally taken the right to apply for asylum.
Amy Guthrie, Associated Press Editor in Mexico contributed to the writing of this report.
[ad_2]Source link
