Migrant caravan must walk as Mexico ignores demand for buses

Migrants from El Salvador start on their way to the United States, in San Salvador, El Salvador, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018. A third group of migrants from El Salvador had already made it to Guatemala, and on Wednesday a fourth group of about 700 Salvadorans set out from the capital, San Salvador, with plans to walk to the U.S. border, 1,500 miles away. (AP Photo/Diana Ulloa) Migrants from El Salvador start on their way to the United States, in San Salvador, El Salvador, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018. A third group of migrants from El Salvador had already made it to Guatemala, and on Wednesday a fourth group of about 700 Salvadorans set out from the capital, San Salvador, with plans to walk to the U.S. border, 1,500 miles away. (AP Photo/Diana Ulloa)

By Associated Press November 1, 2018 5 min read

JUCHITAN, Mexico (AP) – Tired Central American migrants rested in this southern Mexico town while their representatives tried to negotiate bus transportation hundreds of miles ahead, but then came the bad news: They’d be walking again before dawn Thursday.

They planned to take advantage of cool overnight and morning temperatures by hitting the road at 3 a.m. in Juchitan for a trek to Santa Maria Jalapa del Marques, about 35 miles (57 kilometers) to the west.

The migrants have not said what route they intend to take northward or where on the U.S. border they planned to reach, and Juchitan, still about 900 miles from U.S. soil, was something of a crossroads.

Choosing Jalapa del Marques as the next stop appeared to indicate they are opting to travel via Oaxaca state’s eponymous capital instead of turning north toward the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, which is a common transit route toward McAllen, Texas.

On Wednesday evening it became clear that Mexican authorities were not acceding to the caravan’s demand that dozens of buses be provided to whisk the 4,000 or so people to Mexico City.