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News > Latin America

First Caravan Reaches Veracruz As Trump Says Democrats Protect 'Criminal Aliens'

  • Hondurans who make up the Central American Exodus travel en route to the United States in Isla from Sayula de Aleman, Mexico, November 3, 2018

    Hondurans who make up the Central American Exodus travel en route to the United States in Isla from Sayula de Aleman, Mexico, November 3, 2018 | Photo: Reuters

Published 4 November 2018
Opinion

Some of the Central American Exodus make it to Veracruz, while others go directly to Mexico City. Trump again uses Caravan to gain Republican votes.   

The first part of Migrant Caravan is now disbursed throughout the state of Veracruz, with the head of self-named Central American Exodus reaching Veracruz, Mexico overnight, as U.S. troops continue to arrive at the border as part of President Donald Trump's planned deployment of 15,000 military personnel.

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Around 400 people in the Exodus made it to the Veracruz state capital during the early hours of Sunday, some paying around US$10 to get rides grasping onto the outsides of trailers traveling from Cordoba to Veracruz. Adolescents and families are behind them making their way on foot from the city of Isla toward Cordoba, Veracruz having left at 5:00 a.m. Sunday morning, sources tell teleSUR.

Veracruz state is located on Mexico’s southeast Atlantic coast.

A third part of the Caravan’s first contingency is headed directly toward Mexico City.

The breakup of the first caravan that began out of San Pedro Sula, Honduras on Oct. 12 and grew to around 7,000 people at some points in the journey, is due mainly to Mexico's federal government stopping 70 buses from taking Exodus members from Juchitan along Oaxaca’s coast to Oaxaca City last Thursday.

Without transport and a lack of towns and services along the highway to Oaxaca City, the group opted to travel through the gang-filled state of Veracruz. Over the weekend state governor, Miguel Angel Yunes, momentarily offered buses to take Caravaners directly to Mexico City, which he immediately rescinded using the capital city’s planned water outages as the reason.

Many in the first Exodus include children who are struggling with illness, exhaustion, and injuries.

The Exodus left over three weeks ago from Honduras escaping overwhelming violence and inequality in a country that has registered a 70 percent poverty rate since 2015.

The archdiocese of Veracruz is calling on residents to donate medical supplies and clothes for Caravaners. State officials there have set up two shelters and are set to receive up to 1,500 people, according to Mexico media.

TeleSUR correspondent, Pablo Perez says that the second Migrant Caravan that left about two weeks ago from Guatemala is now in Tonala, Chiapas. Both the third and fourth caravans that left out of El Salvador are now in Mexico territory.

Active duty U.S. soldiers are reinforcing the international bridge near McAllen, Texas as a part of President Donald Trump’s Operation Faithful Patriot that includes sending some 5,200 militaries to the southern border with Mexico to "protect" the U.S. from what Trump calls a "national emergency." The majority of Exodus members are seeking asylum in the United States.

Troops have already been placed in San Diego, California, Tucson, Arizona and various points along the Texas border.

President Trump has been touring nearly nonstop this week in the leadup to the Nov. 6 mid-term elections inciting fear in voters of the Exodus calling on citizens to rally around anti-immigrant Republican runners. He tweeted on Saturday night, "If you want to protect criminal aliens – VOTE DEMOCRAT. If you want to protect Law-Abiding Americans – VOTE REPUBLICAN!" 

On Monday the Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales will travel to Honduras and El Salvador to discuss the massive Exodus of between 7-12,000 people from these three countries with his counterparts.

 
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