By Alejandra Lorena
TAPACHULA, Mexico (Reuters) – Guatemalan and Honduran troops will be deployed to prevent new U.S. migrating caravans from advancing, military officials said amid growing desperation among those who want to cross and signs that some groups will leave later this month.
Two devastating hurricanes late last year, coupled with a severe economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic, pushed millions of people in the already poor region closer to starvation, leading to a gradual increase in U.S. migration through Mexico.
In the Mexican border town of Tapachula, located just north of Guatemala, frustrated groups of migrants who had already managed to cross the border pleaded with officials to give them humanitarian visas to cross.
“We just want them to give us an answer,” shouted a troubled migrant, Suset Palmares, a Cuban wearing a face mask like most others around her.
Mexican soldiers equipped in riots stood nearby when migration officials with bullhorns ordered migrants to gather in a street and block traffic to spread.
In online forums, many Honduras have indicated they plan to leave in a new caravan next weekend, drawing the attention of U.S. officials who have called on the governments of the region to stop them. Many migrants in recent years have chosen to travel by caravan because they are part of a large group offering protection against criminals who may prey on them, even though it alone travels faster.
Guatemalan military spokesman Ruben Tellez said on Friday that up to 4,000 troops would be deployed to prevent migrants from entering en masse.
“We are going to strengthen our borders,” he said, referring to the country’s crossings with Honduras, El Salvador, Belize and Mexico. He said the Guatemalan air force would also take part in the anti-caravan efforts.
General Tito Livio Moreno, senior military officer in Honduras, said earlier this week that soldiers would also be deployed in his country in an effort to stop caravans.
In addition to the security measures, Guatemala’s migration authority announced on Friday that only Hondurans would enter with a valid passport and proof of a negative coronavirus test.
In the past, similar attempts have remained successful in stopping future migrants, but they have expressed concern from rights groups about unreasonable restrictions on freedom of movement being slapped for desperate people who want to flee violent violence and poverty in their homelands.
Last year, Mexico authorized its National Guard military police to “regulate” undocumented migration to the northern and southern borders under intense pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who now has less than two weeks in office.
(Reporting by Alejandra Lorena; Additional reporting by Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City, Sofia Menchu in Guatemala City and Gustavo Palencia in Tegucigalpa; Edited by David Alire Garcia and Leslie Adler)