Migrant caravan grows as it heads through southern Mexico

HUIXTLA – A increasing migrant caravan filled the quadrate successful this municipality successful Chiapas authorities connected Wednesday day aft knocking disconnected different 13 miles of its trek crossed confederate Mexico.

About 2,000 migrants had walked retired of the confederate metropolis of Tapachula adjacent the Guatemala borderline connected Saturday. While the multitude is challenging to count, it appeared importantly larger erstwhile it near Huixtla aft a time of remainder and its leaders estimated its size astatine 4,000. It reached the municipality of Villa Comaltitlan connected Wednesday.

“The caravan is similar a magnet, it goes sucking up people, migrants who had been successful the towns (of coastal Chiapas) are joining,” said Irineo Mújica, an migration activistic with the enactment People without Borders.

One of them was Bayron Zavala, a Nicaraguan migrant, who proceeding that the caravan was advancing slowly, got connected a bicycle and caught up with them successful Huixtla. He said helium would locomotion with them “as acold arsenic God gives america the spot ... if possible, proceed to the United States.”

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Without immoderate issue, the migrants passed a customs, migration and subject checkpoint wherever authorities typically prehend drugs and look for quality smugglers.

Though inactive importantly smaller than caravans successful 2018 and 2019, this is the biggest radical moving done confederate Mexico since the pandemic started aboriginal past year. In January, a caravan near Honduras, but authorities successful Guatemala broke it up.

Other groups that person walked retired of Tapachula this twelvemonth person numbered successful the hundreds. All were dissolved by Mexican authorities, sometimes with excessive force. Those groups were composed mostly of Haitian migrants. This caravan is chiefly made up of Central Americans.

The National Guard has not tried to intervene since it attempted to support the migrants from Tapachula connected Saturday. There were scuffles and a kid was injured.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Monday the authorities would enactment “prudently,” respecting the instrumentality and quality rights.

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Mexico has deployed thousands of soldiers, constabulary and migration agents successful the southbound and successful caller years nary ample groups person made it retired of the states bordering Guatemala.

Even so, full families support trying. Cristina Romero wants to marque it to the United States to question attraction for her 12-year-old lad who suffers from a developmental delay.

Romero had applied for asylum successful Mexico, but aft waiting 4 months the reply came backmost negative. “They told maine I could entreaty the case, but that it could travel retired the same,” she said. “Then I heard astir this caravan and I was up for coming.”

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