Another caravan of migrants advances from southern Mexico towards the border with the United States, despite the dissolution of previous groups. Most of the migrants come from Venezuela, Guatemala, El Salvador, and left from Tapachula.
Some 1,500 migrants began the year walking in a group from southern Mexico with the intention of advancing north before Donald Trump assumes the presidency of the United States and despite the fact that the last caravans were dissolved without leaving Chiapasthe border state with Guatemala.
The migrants, most of them Venezuelans but also from countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Peru or Ecuador, left Tapachula, considered the capital of the southern Mexican border, during the early hours of Thursday.
Getting closer to the US border remains the goal for many. Others, faced with Trump's threats of mass deportations and closure of the border, aspire to advance to places where they can find work given the few job opportunities in Tapachula, where violence linked to organized crime has multiplied.
Venezuelan Giscarlis Colmenares had been trying to get an appointment on the CBPOne platform for almost three months to be able to legally enter the United States and request asylum there. Failing to do so, he decided to join the caravan with the main objective of finding a job.
“Work to see if we advance or stay there until we raise (money) and return to Venezuela,” he explained. The 29-year-old girl, who is traveling with some uncles and her cousin, wants to get to Mexico City and, if she cannot continue north, stay in the capital until she saves enough to buy her ticket back to her country.
Trump's victory in November He multiplied the creation of these groups in the hope of being able to reach the United States before immigration measures were tightened. Since then, at least half a dozen groups walked out of Tapachula, although all of them were completely dissolved before leaving southern Mexico.
On Thursday, as on previous occasions, the authorities let them advance through southern Chiapas. But the usual thing is that, after just over 100 kilometers, the immigration agency begins to offer transfers to other states in the country that many migrants accept in order to leave the south.
According to the Mexican government, this is part of the migration containment policy but, in most cases, when migrants arrive in these places they are abandoned to their fate and choose to try to reach the Mexican capital by their own means. .
President Claudia Sheinbaum has defended this immigration policy and announced a “profound transformation” of the National Migration Institute, of which she did not offer any details.
In recent weeks, the government has focused on preparing for the deportations announced by Trump with plans to support Mexicans through consulates in the United States.
In parallel, Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente began contacts with several of his counterparts in Central and South America to address the immigration issue and preparations for the future movements of Trump, who will take office on January 20.
The objective, as Sheinbaum said on Thursday, is to hold a meeting of foreign ministers this January to continue the dialogue at the end of 2023 with the main countries of origin and transit of migration. At the meeting, one of the key topics will be coordinating actions regarding the possible return through Mexico of nationals from other countries.
While walking through southern Mexico on Thursday, Salvadoran Douglas Ernesto, along with his wife and 10-year-old son, said that Trump's threats “generate fear” but that does not discourage him.
“Our goal is the United States but if not, we will stay in Mexico,” he commented. “The only thing is to advance further because Tapachula is very difficult,” he added.
The formation of caravans that leave on foot from the south of Mexico has been periodic since 2018, although for years none have reached the north of the country.
Migrant arrivals at the southern border of the United States fell drastically in 2024 after the rebound the previous year, but the caravans represent only a small, visible part of the thousands of migrants in an irregular situation who move through Mexico.