Hondurans drive on vans and trucks towards US from San Pedro Sula, 180 kms north from Tegucigalpa, on October 13, 2018. – Hondurans decided to left their country due to insecurity and the lack of employment opportunities. The exodus started from the bus station in San Pedro Sula towards the border with Guatemala. (Photo by ORLANDO SIERRA. / AFP)
The migrants, forming what is known as “a caravan,” we’re hoping to leave the impoverished, violence-plagued country and head north on the long journey through Guatemala and Mexico to the US border.
Trump, who has made cracking down on illegal immigration a keystone of his presidency, tweeted that US aid to Honduras, which is planned to reach nearly $66 million in 2019, would end.
“The United States has strongly informed the President of Honduras that if the large Caravan of people heading to the U.S. is not stopped and brought back to Honduras, no more money or aid will be given to Honduras, effective immediately!” he said.
Despite the apparent urgency of Trump’s message, the Honduran would-be migrants appeared highly unlikely to get anywhere near their goal after Guatemala announced it would stop them first.
“Entry of groups or people” without proper visas “will not be permitted,” Guatemala’s border authorities said in a statement.
