Guatemala's Human Rights Ombudsman Jordan Rodas Andrade has expressed concerns over the use of force against thousands of migrants from Honduras trying to pass through the country
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2021) Guatemala's Human Rights Ombudsman Jordan Rodas Andrade has expressed concerns over the use of force against thousands of migrants from Honduras trying to pass through the country.
In a statement released on Sunday, the ombudsman said police and military servicemen used force and tear gas to disperse a caravan of migrants from Honduras.
"Migration happens because in our countries there are no minimum conditions for a dignified life. It is necessary to have empathy and solidarity," Jordan Rodas said in a message posted on Twitter, calling the "brutal use of force" against migrants "deplorable."
According to the New York Times, about 7,000 migrants are currently seeking refuge in the United States.
"Fortunately, our security forces managed to contain this pitched battle," Guillermo Diaz, the director general of the Guatemalan Migration Institute, told the newspaper, adding, "we managed to calm everything in a very complicated situation. ... We are talking about national security here."
Earlier in January, a caravan of some 4,500 Honduran migrants crossed over into Guatemala, scrambling to escape gang-related violence, poverty and unemployment in their home country, a situation which has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Guatemalan authorities have said that they were not going to allow in people who violated migration rules. At the same time, US President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to ease strict immigration policy, imposed by his predecessor Donald Trump.
So far, over 900 people have been deported back to Honduras.
