Did the Democrats, or George Soros, finance the migrant caravan? Despite Republican claims, no

What was said

"But a lot of money has been spent on people going up and trying to get to the border on election day because they think it's bad for us. … they have a lousy policy. The only thing, they stayed together, but they wanted this caravan and some say that this caravan did not take place. It did not happen. Many reasons that this caravan, 4,000 people. "

– President Trump, at a campaign rally in Missoula, Mont. Thursday

facts

This lack of evidence.

A migrant caravan heads north to Mexico and the United States, raising concerns and misrepresentations from Trump and Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.

There is no evidence that George Soros, a billionaire and major democratic donor, has paid thousands of migrants to "storm." There is also no evidence that Democrats support this effort, as Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Gaetz is wrong about several things in his description of the video that he posted.

First of all, it was not shot in Honduras, that he recognized later. Google Maps and Facebook photos are showing the front of the video, an auto parts store, in Chiquimula, Guatemala. As Kirk Semple of The New York Times reported, the migrant caravan was formed last week in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and headed north across Guatemala.

Secondly, Mr Gaetz's assumption that Mr Soros offered migrants money in cash to bring them into the caravan is unfounded. Open Society Foundations, the philanthropic organization of Mr. Soros, denied any involvement.

Luis Assardo, a Guatemalan journalist, said in an email that he had spoken to residents of Chiquimula and that local traders had given money to the migrants, while others had offered to food, clothes or any other help.

The video seems to show that every migrant receives a single bill. The largest amount that he could have received was 200 quetzales, or about 26 dollars. Migrants in the caravan told the Times that Guatemalans usually hand over one or two quetzals, about 13 to 26 cents, which defeated Mr. Trump's claim that "a lot of money" was exchanging hands.

The migrants said that they were not paid to join the caravan.

In an interview, Mr. Gaetz said that he now suspected that the men who were distributing money were members of a cartel who were trying to sow goodwill and overthrow the government. He is also concerned about the involvement of US non-governmental organizations in organizing the caravan, but concedes that "this may not be the case". He pointed out that he was only asking questions – and that he was "always asking".

The idea that refugees only leave their homes for a bit of money is "crazy," said Alex Mensing, project coordinator at Pueblo Sin Fronteras, a transnational group that organized a caravan of migrants. which caught Mr. Trump's attention last spring. (The group has not coordinated the caravan that is now heading north, but has been organizing similar trips for years.)

Similarly, there is no evidence that Democrats "wanted this caravan". Although Democrats (and many Republicans) oppose the Trump government's policy of separating families held at the border, they have sustained legislation to improve border security.