A significant group of migrants, consisting of Central Americans and Venezuelans, departed southern Mexico on Monday with the intention of heading to the United States, according to organizers and officials. This comes as the US faces renewed pressure on its southern border. Officials in the state of Chiapas revealed that around 3,500 individuals started their journey from the city of Tapachula near the Guatemalan border. However, one of the organizers, Irineo Mujica, believes that the group consists of approximately 5,000 people. To alleviate the influx of people crossing into the United States from Mexico, President Joe Biden, who is running for reelection next year, is under immense pressure.
Most members of this recent caravan originate from Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, and Venezuela, as stated by Mujica. The migrants were escorted by civil protection officials and ambulances and began their journey by walking along a coastal highway. Their plan was to spend the night in the municipality of Huehuetan, which is approximately 16 miles (25 km) north of their starting point.
Mujica explained that the migrants chose to leave Tapachula due to their frustration over being unable to obtain humanitarian visas. He also mentioned that some migrants had offered their assistance in the recovery efforts following a hurricane in Acapulco but did not receive a response from the authorities. The government’s National Migration Institute has not yet provided any comment on the situation.
Many migrants are fleeing their homelands due to poverty and political instability, with this year witnessing record numbers crossing the Darien Gap region that connects Panama and Colombia. Additionally, millions of Venezuelans have left their country as a result of the economic crisis that has plagued the once-prosperous oil-producing nation.
Oscar Gutierrez, a Venezuelan migrant traveling with his wife and two daughters, explained that they were compelled to leave Venezuela due to the extremely difficult living conditions caused by insufficient income. He stated, “In Venezuela things are very tough, we can’t live with the money we get, it’s not enough for us, and that’s why we’re going to the United States.”
A tropical storm named Pilar has formed off the coast of Central America in the Pacific and poses a threat of heavy rainfall in the region and parts of southern Mexico.
Reporting by Diego Ore; editing by Jonathan Oatis
