Despite Trump's threats, the caravan of Hondurans continues its journey to the US

Since last October 13, a caravan of more than 2,000 Honduran migrants left San Pedro Sula, Honduras, with one goal: to enter the United States searching for opportunities. However, first, they had to cross the border of Tecún Umán, which links Guatemala with Mexico, reports Clarín newspaper.

Leer en español: Honduras: La caravana de migrantes que desafía a Trump

And they did it. They arrived at the border, despite threats from Trump, who on his Twitter account warned that there would be economic sanctions not only for Honduras but also against El Salvador and Guatemala, in case they allowed their citizens to travel illegally to the United States. In addition, while continuing the advance of migrants, he launched another tweet, saying that if Mexico did not stop them, he would ask the American Army  "close its southern border."

….In addition to stopping all payments to these countries, which seem to have almost no control over their population, I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught – and if unable to do so I will call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 18 de octubre de 2018

Already on the border, the migrants met the barrier of the Mexican and Guatemalan authorities. But, in the face of despair, they decided to cross IGNORE INTO a human stampede IGNORE INTO Mexico, breaking the border fence. This is shown in the following video from the Russian news agency, RT.

Others decided to throw themselves IGNORE INTO the Suchiate River from the bridge that connects Guatemala with Mexico but they were rescued by rafters. There were wounded, due to stones that were thrown by members of the caravan, says BBC Mundo.

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Before the situation arose, the Mexican government had asked the UN for help, to assist the migrants of the caravan, organized by the NGO People Without Borders, who have requested refuge in their country.

The reasons for Hondurans to flee their country

"We have been emigrating because of the crisis, in my country you can not live because there is no salary at all for you, there is no work, there is no security, there is no education, there is nothing, then we go to the United States, to give it a better future for our families, "Juan Carlos Montejo, a Honduran who seeks to reach the United States, told EFE news agency.

"We are emigrating not for nothing but because the country is very poor," says a Honduran woman to DW. A young man from the same country says: "We emigrated in the caravan to get to Mexico and work."

According to information from the World Bank, about 66% of the Honduran population lives in poverty. "In rural areas, approximately one in five Hondurans live in extreme poverty or with less than USD $ 1.90 a day." Similarly, although in recent years the number of homicides has decreased, "Honduras still has one of the highest rates in the world 43.6 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2017," according to the Observatory of Violence of the National Autonomous University of Honduras.

The above are just some of the reasons that today have thousands of Hondurans emigrating to the United States. It must be said that Salvadorans and Guatemalans have joined the caravan, who also seek to reach the same destination.

However, the biggest challenge, if the caravan continues on its way to the US, will be not only to face Trump's pressure but to overcome the biggest challenge: hunger, fatigue, rain, the sun and all the factors that Families that seek a better life that they could not find in their countries will have to live.

LatinAmerican Post | Edwin Gustavo Guerrero Nova

Translated from: 'Honduras: La caravana de migrantes que desafía a Trump'

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