Migrant caravan seeks to reach the United States; Mexico urges Honduras to contain displacement

Mexico made a “respectful exhortation” to the Honduran authorities to “promptly” attend to the irregular flow of migrants “in such a way as to prevent further displacements.”

“(The government of Mexico) makes a respectful appeal to the Honduran authorities to deal with, in a timely manner, this irregular flow of migrants, in such a way as to prevent new displacements, “said the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Relations (SRE) in a statement.

Last January 15 a caravan of migrants from Honduras began their displacement to Mexico, with the aim of reaching the United States.

The caravan, made up of more than 9, 000 Hondurans, crossed western Guatemala this Saturday after overcoming several police devices that tried to prevent their passage.

The SRE made t Also an appeal to the countries of the region to apply the migration and health protocols responsibly to avoid risks derived from the covid pandemic – 19 to the people who make up the advanced.

In the same way, The Mexican Foreign Ministry recognized the “outstanding” work of the Guatemalan government, of which it said that “it has acted firmly and responsibly in the comprehensive care of migrant contingents that violated its sovereignty ”

He highlighted that the Guatemalan authorities have enforced compliance with the immigration law and its health protocols to guarantee orderly and regular income, safeguarding the integrity and life of migrants and its population.

He stated that the Mexican State “is not indifferent” to the structural causes that provoke these massive movements and recognizes the necessities legitimate desires of the various populations that make up the migratory flows.

“However, he added, he is convinced that only through safe, orderly and regular migration schemes can guarantee effective and transversal care for these populations, who face high risks during their migration route. ”

Mexico will guarantee the health of migrants

For his part, Hugo López-Gatell, Mexico’s federal undersecretary for Prevention and Health Promotion, stated at a press conference that, together with the SRE, it was decided that A multi-institutional response operation will be integrated to ensure that people who enter Mexico have the social protection that corresponds to anyone in this country.

He pointed out that the Mexican government is “very aware of human rights and our first interest is that people do not have risks. ”

He reported that the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, asked that alongside this there be an accompaniment in health, so that migrants are not going to get sick and are left without protection in this matter, but at the same time so that the Mexican population is reassured that, in case someone in the caravan is infected, the virus will not spread.

He said that since the beginning of his government, at the end of 2018, the authorities have mobilized to coordinate a health response to the migrant caravans.

López Obrador, from the leftist National Regeneration Movement (Morena) , began his mandate on December 1, 2018 being very critical of his predecessors in migration matters and betting on human rights after the phenomenon of the caravans of October of that year that they entered Mexico with the purpose of reaching the United States.

In 2019, given the increase in caravans of Central American migrants crossing Mexico to the US, the president of this country, Donald Trump, threatened to impose tariffs on all Mexican exports.

The Mexican government then agreed with the United States to militarize its southern border, with Guatemala, in exchange for promoting a development program for Central America through order to stop migrations, but that plan was stalled.

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