VADO HONDO, Guatemala (AP) – Hundreds of Honduran migrants awoke tired and hungry Monday after a second night stuck along a rural Guatemalan roadside by police and soldiers who will not let them pass.
The year’s first migrant caravan was largely stalled in Guatemala two days before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. Biden has promised to take a different approach to immigration and even though immediate changes at the U.S. border are not expected, it has created some hope in Central America.
A steep mountain and tall wall flanking the rural highway have allowed Guatemalan authorities to bottle up the group that had numbered about 2,000 when it pushed into Guatemala Friday night.
Their ranks have reduced through attrition as some migrants have agreed to be bused back to the Honduran border. A Guatemalan official repeated that offer Monday morning, telling the migrants they had buses at the ready for those who wanted to return to Honduras. A smaller number have been forcefully sent back after scuffling with authorities who held their line with baton strikes and tear gas.
Guatemala’s immigration authorities said Monday that another group of about 800 migrants had been located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) farther north along the highway near Rio Hondo. They are also blocked from advancing there, but authorities said they successfully negotiated opening one lane of traffic so vehicles could pass.