A group of about 2,000 migrants, mostly from Central America, regrouped in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas and resumed their journey to the United States, local authorities reported on Monday.
The migrants, who had been dispersed in recent weeks, gathered on Sunday night in the town of Huixtla, about 40 kilometers from the border with Guatemala, and left early Monday morning, heading north.
“They are walking on the side of the road, escorted by state police and the National Guard, to avoid any incident,” said a spokesman for the Chiapas state government.
The spokesman said that the migrants are mostly from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, and that there are also some from Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti.
He added that the state authorities are providing humanitarian aid, such as water, food and medical attention, to the migrants, who are traveling on foot or hitchhiking on vehicles.
The spokesman said that the migrants have not expressed any intention to request asylum or refuge in Mexico, and that they are determined to reach the U.S. border, which is more than 2,000 kilometers away.
The caravan is the largest one that has been formed in Mexico since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to the closure of borders and the suspension of asylum procedures in the United States.
The Mexican government has deployed thousands of troops and immigration agents along its southern and northern borders to prevent the passage of undocumented migrants, following an agreement with the U.S. administration in 2019 to avoid tariffs on Mexican exports.
Source: Voz de America