GUATEMALA CITY: Thousands of Hondurans, including many families with children, walked together across Guatemala on Saturday hoping to reach the United States, fleeing poverty and violence in a region wracked by the economic fallout of the pandemic and back-to-back hurricanes late last year.
About 6,000 migrants have entered Guatemala since Friday, according to the spokeswoman for Guatemala’s immigration authority, Alejandra Mena.
Another 1,500 to 2,000 migrants forced their way across the Guatemalan border midday on Saturday, according to a Reuters witness, after confrontations with Guatemalan soldiers and immigration agents.
The first migrant caravan of the year comes less than a week before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
Biden has promised a more humane approach to migration, in contrast to outgoing President Donald Trump’s hardline policies.
In the meantime, Mexican and Central American authorities coordinated security and public health measures aimed at…