About 3,000 migrants from Central America, Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti on Wednesday blocked visitors on one in every of Mexico’s major southern highways to demand transit or exit visas to achieve the USA border.
The caravan of migrants set out on foot from the town of Tapachula, close to the Guatemalan border, on October 30, strolling north towards the US.
The contingent, together with many ladies and kids, later stopped strolling at Huixtla, one other city within the southern state of Chiapas, the place they tried to get momentary journey paperwork to cross Mexico.
On Wednesday, the migrants blocked freeway inspection cubicles simply outdoors Huixtla.
Activist Irineo Mújica, one of many organisers of the march, stated the blockade would proceed, as a result of migrants are afraid of criminals, smugglers and extortionists who might prey on them in the event that they proceed strolling. Many migrants would additionally favor to take buses, however are sometimes prevented from doing so in the event that they don’t have papers.
“We all know we’re inflicting discomfort for Mexicans, and we apologise,” Mújica stated. “However the drug cartels are kidnapping us, killing us.”
Honduran migrant Herson Fernández was travelling together with his spouse and three youngsters; sobbing, he stated that they had run out of cash.
“They (authorities) received’t give us a solution, they received’t give us paperwork,” Fernández stated. “The thought is to get to the USA as a result of there’s a higher future for the youngsters, the reality is that we’re doing it for them.”
However the Mexican authorities’s Refugee Help Fee issued a press release late Tuesday declaring that it doesn’t difficulty transit visas.
The present caravan was among the many largest since June 2022. Migrant caravans in 2018 and 2019 drew far larger consideration. However with as many as 10,000 migrants displaying up on the US border in latest weeks, the October 30 march is now only a drop within the bucket.
Previously Mexico’s tactic was largely to attend for the marchers to get drained, after which provide them rides again to their dwelling international locations or to smaller, different processing centres.
The southwestern border of the US has struggled to deal with growing numbers of migrants from South America who transfer shortly by way of the Darien Hole between Colombia and Panama earlier than heading north. By September, 420,000 migrants, aided by Colombian smugglers, had handed by way of the hole within the yr so far, Panamanian figures confirmed.
Donate At Caribbean Information Service, we don’t cost for our content material and we wish to maintain it that manner. We’re searching for help from people and organisations so we are able to
proceed our work & develop CNS additional.
