The Guatemalan army deployed an operation on the night of October 4 to stop the advance of the caravan of Honduran migrants trying to reach the United States.
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"The Guatemalan Army's trucks returned over 3,500 people to Honduras... The version of the Guatemalan government is that 'they returned voluntarily' although the reasons for migrating away from Honduras remain," outlet France 24 reported.
The "containment operation" continued for the next day amid growing tensions. Unlike what happened a year ago, when over 10,000 Honduran migrants also made up a caravan, the Guatemalan population did not express their solidarity with the new pilgrims.
"The COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. agreements with Guatemala and Mexico, as well as the very serious economic and social crisis that devastated the entire continent, have generated a very different environment," the Italian outlet La Repubblica witnessed.
"The caravan encountered a wall of agents and soldiers along the border crossings in Guatemala. There were clashes and over 1,000 people managed to cross and disperse through the jungle... But most of them got caught up in the fighting, between tear gas and baton blows. It's hard to resist, especially if you are carrying children," it added.
The meme reads, "Honduran Caravan Migrants and the Guatemalan Army."
On Sunday, the Mexican Army, the National Guard (GN), and the National Migration Institute (INM) sealed the southern border of Mexico to prevent the entry of Hondurans who circumvented the police-military fence that Guatemala installed to prevent the advance of the caravan towards the United States.
Previously, after being harshly repressed by the Guatemalan security forces, the caravan split into three small parts and some of its members were forced to return to their country.
Shortly before noon, some 300 members of the National Guard and the Mexican Army, who were carrying riot shields and batons, arrived on the shore of the Suchiate River, which creates a natural division between Mexico and Guatemala.
Accompanied by soldiers who carried assault weapons, the INM officials installed immigration controls where they requested documentation from all people who entered Mexican territory.