Tapachula, Chiapas.- Central American governments issued an alert on Monday Nov. 19 on the possibility that, in the next few hours, new caravans could be departing towards Mexico and the United States, but this time coming out of Brazil, Ecuador and Venezuela.
The first reports indicate that these “Caravans” are being organized through social networks, just as it happened in Honduras and El Salvador a few weeks ago, when the mass exodus call was made on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Even when the facts have been handled with extreme secrecy and have not been officially announced, it is feared that these new movements of migrants might be financed.
The theory was strengthened after the vice president of the United States, Mike Pence, accused leftist groups in Honduras and the Venezuelan government itself of organizing the caravan of migrants that is moving towards the U.S border.
Pence informed the media that the caravan, formed by thousands of Hondurans advancing through Mexican territory towards the United States , was organized by leftist groups in Honduras and financed, in part, by Venezuela , allegedly with the argument of defying North American laws and trying to destabilize both Mexican and American governments
According to Pence, in the caravan coming from Hondurans, there are people from other parts of the world with a criminal background.
While this is happening, there was a riot on Monday November 19, at the facilities of the System for Integral Development for Families (DIF) in Tapachula Chiapas, in which, according to what was said, 21 minors from Honduras came from. The migrants, who walked into Mexico with the caravan, requested the quality of refugees, so they were taken to that shelter , located in the Colonia Viva Mexico, to receive food, water, medical attention and a decent place to sleep.
Everything was going well until the afternoon of Monday, when the young people began to demonstrate, rebelled against the employees and mutinied, with the threat that they would carry out destruction and aggressions if they were not released immediately.
They asked representatives of human rights organizations to complain that the food was not of good quality and that they felt as if they were prisoners.
Faced with this position, they were sent to the “Siglo XXI” Migration Station , where they will continue their waiting process so that the authorities can decide whether to grant them refuge in Mexico or to repatriate them back to their country of origin.
On the eve, something similar had happened at the facilities of the Mesoamerican Fair, also in Tapachula, which had been set up as a temporary shelter for migrants.
As a result of this riot, some 200 migrants were granted a Single Population Registration Code (CURP) and were allowed to leave the shelter and seek, by their own means, a place to await the immigration resolution for each one of them.
In the course of the following hours, other migrants who were staying in the same facilities showed similar behavior and, therefore, the authorities decided to grant all of the CURP document, leave all the migrants free and empty the shelter .
It is unknown, for the time being, if the Mesoamerican shelter will be closed completely or will be available as an alternative for migrants.
On the night of Monday Nov. 19, groups of between 30 and 50 migrants wandered in different parts of the city, some even asking locals for “spare change” in the corners and alleys, because until their legal situation is resolved, they can not leave Tapachula.
Meanwhile, the caravan with about 2,500 Salvadorans who arrived on Sunday in Tapachula, decided on Monday to continue on its way to the center of the country. In the afternoon it was reported that they had arrived in Huixtla , where they would rest for the night, and then advance towards Mapastepec .
His predecessors, the second caravan of Hondurans, left Chiapas on Monday after leaving the municipality of Arriaga to try to reach Tapanatepec, Oaxaca.
Many Hondurans that belong to the first Caravan, continued disseminated all over Mexico City , Puebla and even in Veracruz.
While all this is happening, Mexican and Guatemalan authorities carried out the cleanup of the Rodolfo Robles International Bridge, after the two caravans of Hondurans left significant material damage at the site.
As it was officially announced that border crossing was re-open at the Mexico – Guatemala border on Sunday November 18. People now can go through on foot, on both sides of the border, and it is expected that in the next few hours the passage of vehicles could also be reactivated.
TYT Newsroom with information from Chiapas sin censura, Minuto Chiapas, The Mazatlan Post
