VIDEO: Guatemalan security forces violently detain Honduran migrant caravan

The Guatemalan security forces detained and violently reprimanded this Sunday a migrant caravan made up of thousands of Hondurans, who intend to reach Mexico and later the United States in search of the American dream.

According to Efe, the migrants were attacked with sticks and with tear gas canisters by members of the Guatemalan Army when they tried to advance on a highway in the west of the country, where they have been stranded since Saturday night.

Hondurans are part of a migrant caravan made up of more than 9, 000 compatriots, according to official calculations, that left San Pedro Sula in different phases last Wednesday , Thursday and Friday.

Migrants in Guatemala. 😥😢 pic.twitter.com/ub9RCIo5gQ

– Gustavo Vela (@GustavoVela 71) January 19, 2021

The Guatemalan Migration Institute confirmed to journalists that “ several injured people are reported ”, including its personnel, members of the Guatemalan Army and Honduran migrants, although without further details at the moment.

Stranded near the border

The group that is stranded is made up of around 6, 000 migrants, while the other 3, 000 Hondurans who make up the caravan have managed to advance in some cases and in others the crowd has been thinning out or has started the journey back to their country.

The caravan illegally sneaked through the border post between Friday night and Saturday El Florido, in the department of Chiquimula, 200 kilometers west of Guatemala City.

Where is the @UNHCRamericas, @unicefguatemala or @ONU_es ? The #Guatemala Army mercilessly repressed the defenseless #CaravanaMigrante who was only looking for a better life outside of #Honduras, a country that only offers them violence, misery, hunger and unemployment. pic.twitter.com/I1yBmIbWrg

– ASIER VERA (@ASIERVERA) January 17, 2021

However, the security forces imposed a police barrier at the end of Saturday about 20 kilometers after the border of El Florido, always in Chiquimula, so the migrants find themselves stranded without being able to advance.

On the edge of 07. 00 local time (13 . 00 GMT), the thousands of Hondurans tried to break through the police barrier, but were violently repressed by approximately one minute by the Guatemalan Army and the National Civil Police, forcing them to retreat.

🔥 #AHORA 🔥 Guatemalan police fire tear gas at hondur migrant caravan Years to prevent them from advancing, happens in the Vado Hondo sector, Chiquimula, dozens of injured migrants are reported including children # 17 January @BoliviAmor @ taniasandinistapic.twitter.com / qr 50 ughRUo

– Pablo Úbeda Digital Troop🇳🇮 (@TPU 19 J) January 17, 2021

The director of the Guatemalan Migration Institute, Guillermo Díaz, had informed a part of the caravan on Saturday afternoon that “they cannot pass and they will not pass. ”

The official’s words were specifically recorded on the road where migrants have been stranded since Saturday, located in the municipality of Quetzaltepeque, in the department of Chiquimula.

According to the director of the Guatemalan Migration Institute, more than 20 Police checkpoints on the road that would lead the migrants from their current position in western Guatemala to the border with Mexico, in the east of the country.

“It is impossible for them to continue their route. They could already try and it was not possible to pass. People who have already passed have already been detained. We invite you to return to your place of origin ”, added Díaz on Saturday afternoon before the thousands of migrants.

This is the moment in which this morning Honduran migrants on the border with Guatemala try to break a police fence without success. Very tense situation. Via @AztecaNoticias pic.twitter.com/lGOhwiiZid

– Monica Garza (@monicagarzag) January 17, 2021

The Guatemalan Government had maintained throughout the week its position of not allowing the entry into the territory of the thousands of Honduran migrants.

However, given the large number of people who gathered at the border on Friday, the National Civil Police agents decided to take a step towards side and let the crowd advance.

The authorities had warned that they will not allow migrants to enter the country if they do not comply with the requirements established in this regard, especially a negative test for covid- 19.

Hondurans seek to reach the United States to have better living conditions, away from poverty and violence than The Central American isthmus is buffeting, especially after the pandemic and hurricanes Eta and Iota, which made landfall last November.

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