709 Hondurans cross into Guatemala in US-bound migrant caravan

As many as 709 Hondurans on Tuesday crossed the border into Guatemala as part of a new migrant caravan, which seeks to reach the border of the United States, the government of Honduras said.

Lisandro Rosales, the director of the Permanent Contingency Commission of Honduras, said in a statement that 359 Hondurans entered Guatemala after completing migration formalities at the Agua Caliente border crossing.

He said that another 350 people, including children, broke the police cordon in Agua Caliente to enter Guatemala illegally, from where they intend to continue traveling toward Mexico and eventually the US.

Rosales added that 23 unaccompanied Honduran minors were handed over to the care of the Directorate for Children, Adolescents and Family until they were returned to their home towns.

Honduran authorities have deployed strict measures to control migration at the Agua Caliente crossing, where at least 60 minors have been detained.

The police have set up 54 check posts along the borders with Guatemala and El Salvador in order to “watch out for the security” of the population, according to a report by the National Civil Police.

On Monday, about 1,000 Hondurans, divided into two groups of men, women and children, left the city of San Pedro Sula in northern Honduras with the idea of reaching the US for a better life.

The government reiterated its appeal to Honduran citizens to not “risk their lives on the migration route.”

The foreign ministry of Honduras said that none of the thousands of migrants, who left in caravans in October aiming to reach the US were able to secure political asylum or enter the US territory legally.

At least 11 Honduran citizens died in an attempt to reach the US territory in earlier caravans, according to official data.