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Around 300 people who were part of the migrant caravan that left San Pedro Sula, Honduras on Saturday, January 15, were detained by Guatemalan authorities when they tried to cross into that country in their attempt to reach the United States. Local authorities reported that there was a violent confrontation in which 15 members of the public force were injured.
The first migrant caravan of 2022 has been blocked in Guatemala. The Migration Institute began discussions to return to their countries of origin around 300 people detained while trying to cross irregularly into that country, in search of better living conditions in the United States.
“People are being returned, everything is in order, humanely (…) We are protecting our borders, we are protecting the health of all Guatemalans,” said the institute’s general director, Carlos Emilio Morales.
In total, a group of approximately 800 Hondurans and Nicaraguans left San Pedro Sula, Honduras on Saturday, January 15, mostly young people with backpacks on their shoulders and women with children.
But hours later, upon arriving at the border post in Corinto, Honduras, in front of the Guatemalan Izabel crossing, security forces prevented the group of migrants from passing and riots broke out.
Some migrants threw objects at members of the Guatemalan Police and Army who pushed them with riot shields, according to a video shared by local authorities.
People who wish to stay in Guatemala must present a vaccination certificate against Covid-19, as well as a negative test for the virus.
However, a reporter from the AFP agency indicated that he saw people without the required documents who were returned to Honduras.
In search of a better life
Dozens of citizens in the caravan said they made the arduous journey on foot to escape poverty and violence in their hometowns and start a new life.
Many of them narrated that they have been victims of natural disasters such as floods and droughts.
“There is no work (…) “That is why people leave in this caravan,” said Pablo Méndez, a Honduran who was carrying his 2-year-old daughter in his arms.
Guatemalan authorities indicated that some 100 people crossed into their country through unauthorized border crossings and later added that some 36 people have already been returned to Honduras.
Honduran police have previously blocked roads to prevent many of these caravans from reaching the border crossing.
The first caravan of 2022 comes after the deep economic difficulties and poverty that plagues 62% of the Honduran population, a situation exacerbated by the pandemic and two consecutive hurricanes in 2020 that hit the economy.
Meanwhile, in Nicaragua, the political repression of President Daniel Ortega before and after the presidential elections on November 7 has caused an increase in migration.
In recent months, the Joe Biden Administration has been the target of strong criticism for its immigration policy. His speech in favor of migrants at the beginning of his term was strongly rejected by Republicans who demanded changes and apparently left him at a crossroads that has seen the tightening of rules for migrants, many now justified with health precautions before the Covid-19.
Last September, Washington announced that it would increase its limit to receive 125,000 refugees and their families from 2022.
However, in December, the US announced it would reinstate a controversial Trump-era border program that forces asylum seekers to remain in Mexico pending US immigration hearings.
With Reuters and EFE
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