In Photos: Guatemala forces battle determined Honduran migrants

Guatemalan safety forces used batons and tear gasoline to beat again a big migrant caravan certain for america. A big part of the caravan clashed early on Sunday with Guatemalan safety officers, some 3,000 of whom had mustered by the village of Vado Hondo, 55km (34 miles) from the borders of Honduras and El Salvador.

“We wish the Guatemalans to allow us to previous,” stated Joaquin Ortiz, a Honduran within the caravan. “As a result of we’re not leaving right here. We’re going to hold on. I wish to get by way of as a result of it’s horrible in our nation. There’s nothing in Honduras.”

Between 7,000 and eight,000 migrants, together with households with younger youngsters, have entered Guatemala since Friday, authorities say, fleeing poverty and violence in a area hammered by the coronavirus pandemic and back-to-back hurricanes final November. The big contingent of Guatemalan safety officers managed to cease the caravan from advancing past Vado Hondo, with the individuals within the caravan dispersing into the close by hills or heading again the best way they got here.

“Guatemala’s message is loud and clear: These kind of unlawful mass actions [of people] won’t be accepted, that’s why we’re working along with the neighbouring nations to handle this as a regional situation,” the Guatemalan president’s workplace stated.

Even when the caravan does get previous, Mexico is getting ready lots of of safety forces to cease them at its southern border, arguing it should include the unfold of coronavirus. The pandemic has battered Honduras’ financial system, which final yr suffered its worst contraction on file.