The first large migrant caravan of the year leaves Honduras for the United States

First modification: 01/20/2024 – 19:08

4 min

This is the first large caravan leaving Honduras to take the route to the United States this year. About 500 migrants left the Central American country on Saturday, January 20. They aim to reach the north of the continent to seek better living conditions.

The migrants left on foot from the Gran Central Metropolitana, the main bus terminal in San Pedro Sula, Honduras' second largest city, located in the northwest of the country. First, they headed towards the town of Corinto, the border point with Guatemala, located about 100 kilometers north of the city.

Another border crossing through which migrants usually pass is Agua Caliente, which marks the border with Guatemala and El Salvador, and is located more than 220 kilometers west of San Pedro Sula.

The caravan is made up mostly of Honduran and Venezuelan citizens, among whom are women with small children. There are also families, groups of friends and unemployed young people.

The origins of the migrants are diverse: they come from parts of the country such as Pimienta, Ocotepeque, Cofradía or Santa Bárbara.

Insecurity and unemployment, two reasons for the exodus

Since October 2018, thousands of Honduran migrants have decided to leave in a caravan for the United States. However, this is one of the largest recorded since leftist President Xiomara Castro came to power in early 2022. In seven days, she will complete her second year in office.

According to testimonies collected by the EFE news agency, insecurity and lack of employment are the two main reasons that explain the exodus.

We are looking for a better future, I have not found work in the country, said one of the migrants who identified herself as Zoe, who pointed out that she comes from Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.

Another migrant, identified as Alejandra, assured that she is leaving the country because of “hunger and because there is no work in the country.” In addition, she made reference to the situation derived from violence. She indicated that she is going with her two children and a brother, who come from the coastal city of Tela.

Xiomara Castro has been criticized by a part of the population and the political opposition for not having fulfilled her campaign promise, to improve the living conditions of her compatriots so that they do not continue leaving their country in search of better life opportunities in the United States. Joined.

The Honduran Government estimates that nearly 64% of the country's 10 million inhabitants live in poverty. And human rights defense organizations estimate daily between 700 and 1,000 Hondurans leave their country.

Honduras is also a transit country for Latin American and international migrants

Wilson Paz, director of the Migrant Protection office of the Honduran Foreign Ministry, regretted that many of his compatriots have to leave the country and insisted on the risks of the trip. “The caravan occurs due to the marked inequality of opportunities, it is not only due to lack of employment,” he indicated.

The small Central American country also sees hundreds of thousands of migrants pass through its territory from different parts of Latin America and other continents, seeking to fulfill the American dream.

The National Commissioner for Human Rights in Honduras (Conadeh) indicated on January 14 that at least 5,709 migrantsmostly Venezuelans, entered Honduras irregularly only during the first week of January.

He also pointed out that between 2010 and so far in 2024, 870,940 migrants transited through Honduras, coming from the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Africa and Asia.

2023, a year with record migration numbers on the border between Mexico and the United States

After a journey of more than 3,000 kilometers through Guatemala and, above all, Mexico, migrants gather at the border with the United States in the hope of crossing to the other side.

The pace of border crossings between Mexico and the United States had still accelerated in the final weeks of 2023, with an average of 10,000 crossings daily, according to US border police. With more than 2.4 million encounters recorded by the authorities of the North American country, the year 2023 broke the record for irregular migrant crossings.

The UN also described the land route from Mexico to the United States as the most dangerous in the world. While the United Nations stated that last year 686 migrants died or disappeared in their attempt to cross the border. When deaths from other parts of the migratory route to the United States are added, such as the passage through the Darién between Panama and Colombia and the maritime routes through the Caribbean, the figure rises to 1,457 deaths.

With EFE, Reuters and local media