The first migrants from a new caravan formed in Honduras, which comprises about 1,000 people, have entered Guatemala on their way to the United States, the Guatemalan migration authorities told Sputnik on Thursday
SAN SALVADOR (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th April, 2019) The first migrants from a new caravan formed in Honduras, which comprises about 1,000 people, have entered Guatemala on their way to the United States, the Guatemalan migration authorities told Sputnik on Thursday.
According to media reports, migrants gathered in the city of San Pedro Sula in northern Honduras on Tuesday evening in order to set off toward the United States. The caravan departed on Wednesday.
"Several people have already entered [the country's territory] on a regular basis, their documents are fine, and our delegation [at customs] in Agua Caliente is carrying out checks, paying special attention to minors," Alejandra Mena, a spokeswoman for Guatemala's migration authority, said.
She, at the same time, noted that Guatemalan migrant authorities did not let in minors arriving without their parents and valid passports.
The Honduran National Institute of Migration, in turn, confirmed to Sputnik that about a thousand people had left San Pedro Sula on Wednesday morning heading to the United States. According to the Institute, the migrants intend to reach the US border by crossing the territory of Guatemala and Mexico.
People are fleeing Honduras due to the high level of criminality and violence in the country, which is suffering from gang warfare. Most of people fleeing are women and children.
The situation on the US southern border escalated last fall as a caravan, including thousands of people from Central American countries, reached the US border. The US authorities deployed several thousand servicemen to the border to ensure security and repel migrants trying to cross into the country. �
