Thousands of Venezuelan migrants set up a caravan towards the US in southern Mexico

Thousands of Venezuelans who left their country due to the electoral crisis are preparing to leave in a caravan to the United States from the southern border of Mexico, where they asked the governments of both countries this Saturday to consider their situation.

The migrants gathered in Bicentenario Park, the main point of irregular migration, where they will leave early this Sunday towards Mexico City and later to the northern border.

Carlos Enrique, who left Venezuela after the elections last July, told EFE that he fled his country out of fear for his life, as he belonged to the opposition of the Government of President Nicolás Maduro, so he decided to cross Central America with the goal of reaching the US

“I belonged to an opposition political body and as a result of that I am here trying to look for a better future for the United States and looking for an improvement for my family and to be able to help myself. I left brothers, my father, my uncles and my cousins ​​to be able to work, make an effort to help my family,” he commented.

This caravan will be joined by migrants from Colombia, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, Peru, Ecuador, and mostly from Venezuela.

Migration operations to avoid caravan

The Mexican Government, through the National Migration Institute (INM), launched an operation in Bicentenario Park to prevent migrants from leaving walking in a caravan this Sunday morning.

A group of migration agents arrived with buses to offer migrants transportation to the city of Tuxtla Gutiérrez.

The Venezuelan migrant Carlos agreed to get on the trucks to avoid walking and approaching Tuxtla Gutiérrez for six hours, instead of arriving in three or four days on foot.

For his part, Antonio Sánchez, from Honduras, who is traveling with his wife, told EFE that they are happy for the help of the Mexican Government and commented that they avoid visiting the places because of the danger it entails.

“They told us that they are going to give us a permit for 10 days so that we can wait for the CBP ONE appointment (US immigration portal) and they are going to take us to Tuxtla Gutiérrez,” he explained.

The authorities indicated that this approach to the population in the context of human mobility is carried out during tours of the areas where migrants are concentrated, which seeks to raise awareness in this sector about the dangers involved in going out for a walk in search of crossing the border. irregularly.

The agents informed the migrants about the complications they may face along the way, such as inclement weather, dangers to their physical integrity, and even the possibility of putting their lives at risk every time they are exposed to long walks on the ground. road.

They were also informed about the procedures that those seeking refuge in Mexico can initiate, providing guidance on the steps to follow to regularize their immigration status in an orderly manner.

Mexico / EFE