Migrant caravan: 4,000 trekking towards US border
Donald Trump threatens to halt humanitarian aid to Central America unless Hondurans fleeing violence are stopped
Donald Trump has threatened to cut aid to Central America and close his country’s border with Mexico if a caravan of Honduran migrants marching toward the US is not turned back.
Around 4,000 people have fled ongoing violence in Honduras, where “gangs exercise widespread control in certain neighborhoods”, The New York Times reports. A political crisis in the wake of last year’s elections also led to thousands of arrests and a number of deaths.
Denis Contreras, who is fleeing Honduras with his sister and two nieces, told France24 that his nation’s people could “no longer endure so much violence”, adding that “this is the beginning of an avalanche that is coming”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The migrants have already crossed into Guatemala, after forcing their way “past approximately 100 Guatemalan police at the border” with Honduras, and are heading northwards towards Mexico, reports USA Today.
The Guardian reports that Mexican authorities have sent “two planeloads of federal forces to the border city of Tapachula, some of the operatives equipped with riot gear”, in a bid to stop the group from reaching the Guatemala-Mexico border.
Meanwhile, in a tweet today, the US president threatened to cut US humanitarian aid to Honduras if the caravan was allowed to arrive at the border.
However, as USA Today notes, it is “not entirely clear” what Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez can do to turn the migrants back now that they are on Guatemalan soil.
Trump later posted another tweet demanding action from Mexican authorities.
Vice President Mike Pence also published a tweet about the situation, saying that he had spoken with President Hernandez and Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, and implying that aid might also be stopped to the latter’s nation unless the migrants were stopped.
CNN reports that the issue has created serious friction in the West Wing, with White House chief of staff John Kelly and national security advisor John Bolton getting into a “shouting match” yesterday over Bolton’s “harder line” approach to the issue.
This may not be the first time President Donald Trump “has used an organised group of Central American refugees heading to the US to drum up support for his border security and immigration policies”, says the BBCs Anthony Zurcher.
However, with the mid-term elections 18 days away, “the stakes are higher and the rhetoric is sharper”.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Women are getting their own baseball league again
In the Spotlight The league is on track to debut in 2026
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Giant TVs are becoming the next big retail commodity
Under the Radar Some manufacturers are introducing TVs over 8 feet long
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
When will mortgage rates finally start coming down?
The Explainer Much to potential homebuyers' chagrin, mortgage rates are still elevated
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Experts discover why dogs wag their tails
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Biblical' toad plague causes pile up
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Flies attack Donald Trump
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Ascension island: UK could send small boats arrivals to remote Atlantic territory
Speed Read UK government weighs up alternatives if Rwanda scheme is ruled unlawful by Supreme Court
By Sorcha Bradley Published
-
Donald Trump criminal charges for 6 January could strain 2024 candidacy
Speed Read Former president’s ‘pettifoggery’ won’t work well at trial, said analyst
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Justice Department sues Texas over Mexico border buoys
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Why journalist deaths continue to rise around the world
Under the Radar Journalist deaths rose sharply in 2022 and don't appear to be slowing down this year
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexican mayor marries a crocodile
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published