A caravan of about 1,500 Hondurans heads to the United States to seek asylum on charges of security, but Donald Trump has already made it clear that they are not welcome. The United States announced Tuesday to Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández that if the crowd of immigrants does not end their journey, it will cut economic aid to the country, "with immediate effect." Immigrants, however, have already crossed the border and are in Guatemala. It is not the first time that Trump has made this kind of threat to the Central American country. In April, when another huge group had the same goal, the Republican announced that he would suspend the resources and sent the National Guard to the Mexican border to prevent access to the country's "cross-border of immigrants." The announcement caused them to disperse and seek a legal alternative in small organized groups.
The "Immigrant Walk" set off on Saturday in San Pedro Sula, Honduras' most violent city, with the goal of reaching the United States and Canada. There are about 1,300 people, including many families with children. Over the weekend they were seen sleeping in tents, sports centers, cars, and preparing tortillas in large quantities to feed the community. Then they passed the frontier point of Agua Caliente, in Guatemala, and headed for Esquipulas, where they spent the night of Monday. The repeated argument to leave his country is the fear of gang violence and poverty. In one of the bands with which they left, it reads: "We are not leaving, we are being expelled."
The US embassy in Honduras said on Saturday that it was seriously concerned that the group, which "made the trip with false promises," would enter their country on Tuesday. said in his Twitter account: "The US has firmly informed the president of Honduras that if the large caravan of people heading to the United States is not detained and returned to Honduras, no more money will be Honduras, with immediate effect! ".
The convocation appeared in the social networks and little by little more people joined the group. A day later, on Sunday, there were more than 800 people and today some of the activists who accompany her estimate that the number could reach 3,000. To go to the United States, immigrants would first have to cross the border with Guatemala and then Mexico.
With the threat of Trump, the United States Government wants to avoid repeating the situation that occurred in March, when another caravan of immigrants left Tapachula (in the Mexican state of Chiapas) and traveled to Mexico to reach the United States. Before dissolving in Mexico City, the caravan caused moments of diplomatic tension between the United States and the Government of Enrique Peña Nieto.
"Let's go, let's make Donald Trump fall, he has to get us there in the United States," Andrea Fernandez, 24, who carried a baby in her arms and walked with two children, aged 5 and 7 years.
This new caravan, seven months after the previous one, confirms the humanitarian crisis in the region where the Central Americans no longer emigrate but flee. The hope of many of them is to arrive in Mexico to seek humanitarian refuge until they can legalize their situation. In Honduras, 64% of families live in poverty, are besieged in neighborhoods and villages by gangs that violently impose the so-called "war tax", an extortion of residents, shops, businesses, buses and taxis. Honduras is the only Central American country that has two cities, San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa, in the ranking of the most violent in the world, where they occupy positions 25 and 35. The Government of Juan Orlando insisted that it did its work and managed to reduce the emigration to the US by 36%.
