Migrant caravan continues north

Make border security an election issue, Trump urges GOP

Honduran migrants, who are traveling to the United States as a group, get a free ride Wednesday on the back of a trailer truck flatbed as they make their way through Teculutan, Guatemala.
Honduran migrants, who are traveling to the United States as a group, get a free ride Wednesday on the back of a trailer truck flatbed as they make their way through Teculutan, Guatemala.

CHIQUIMULA, Guatemala -- More than 2,000 Honduran migrants traveling en masse through Guatemala resumed their journey toward the United States on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump sought to turn the caravan into a political issue less than three weeks before midterm elections.

A day after warning Central American governments that they risk losing U.S. aid if they don't do something and saying that anyone entering the country illegally would be arrested and deported, Trump turned his sights on Democrats and urged Republican allies to campaign on border security.

"Hard to believe that with thousands of people from South of the Border, walking unimpeded toward our country in the form of large Caravans, that the Democrats won't approve legislation that will allow laws for the protection of our country. Great Midterm issue for Republicans!" Trump said in a Wednesday morning tweet.

"Republicans must make the horrendous, weak and outdated immigration laws, and the Border, a part of the Midterms!" he continued.

In Guatemala, the migrants rose early and many left without eating breakfast, bound for Zacapa, the next city on their route. Overcast skies and a light drizzle took the edge off the sweltering heat and humidity, making the trek more bearable.

The migrants are fleeing widespread poverty and gang violence in one of the world's most murderous countries, and many blamed Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez for what they called unlivable conditions back home.

The previous day the migrants advanced about 30 miles from the Honduras-Guatemala border to arrive at the city of Chiquimula.

That's a tiny portion of the almost 1,350 miles they'd have to travel to reach the closest U.S. border.

Some were able to hitch rides while many more continued on foot with backpacks, strollers and Honduran flags. Hundreds advanced farther and faster than the main group to reach the Guatemalan capital, according to the Casa del Migrante shelter there.

Late Tuesday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico to respect the rights and ensure the safety of the migrants traveling in the caravan.

The caravan has snowballed since about 160 migrants departed Friday from the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, with many people joining spontaneously while carrying just a few belongings. Estimates of their numbers ranged up to 3,000.

On Tuesday, Honduras' president accused unnamed "political groups" of organizing the caravan based on lies in order to cause problems in Honduras.

"There are sectors that want to destabilize the country, but we will be decisive and we will not allow it," Hernandez told reporters.

Earlier the Foreign Ministry alleged that people had been lured to join the migration with "false promises" of a transit visa through Mexico and the opportunity to seek asylum in the United States.

In a joint statement Wednesday, Mexico's Foreign Relations and Interior Departments said that anyone in the caravan with travel documents and a proper visa will be allowed to enter, and anyone who wants to apply for refugee status can do so.

But the statement said all cases must be processed individually, suggesting that authorities have no intention of letting the migrants simply cross the border en masse without going through standard immigration procedures.

It warned that anyone who enters Mexico in an "irregular manner" faces detention and deportation.

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said Wednesday that he had spoken twice with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.

As for Guatemala's government, Morales said, "We do not accept conditions; we do not impose conditions. What we do is accept our responsibilities and we are going to prioritize what our laws say."

He added that he had also discussed with Honduras' Hernandez the facilitation of "the most comfortable, feasible and humane return possible for any who wish to go back."

Luis Arreaga, the U.S. ambassador to Guatemala, posted a video message on Twitter to migrants thinking of entering the United States illegally.

"If you try to enter the United States, you will be detained and deported," Arreaga said in Spanish. Addressing those already en route, he added: "Return to your country. Your attempt to migrate will fail."

Also Wednesday, some 300 Hondurans arrived at the El Salvador border hoping to join the caravan in Guatemala.

A Salvadoran government statement and the country's migration director, Herbert Hernandez, said about 100 of the Hondurans tried to enter "without going through the obligatory migration control," and soldiers and police took control of a border bridge between the two countries.

Some from the group went through the standard migration processing and were allowed to enter El Salvador.

Others who refused were partially impeding the crossing.

"Transit at the El Amatillo border is blocked by these people, not by ... the government," Hernandez said.

A Section on 10/18/2018

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