Migrant caravans take off from southeastern Mexico amid US elections

MEXICO CITY

Two migrant caravans with hundreds of Latin American asylum seekers left Tuesday from the Chiapas border state with Guatemala and are headed to Mexico City in their journey to reach the US border wall.

The first caravan left from Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital city of Chiapas, while a second is departing from Tapachula, a small municipality that sits at the edge of the state, a main point of entry for migrants south of the Mexican border.

Hundreds of men, women and children are beginning the journey as millions of voters in the US are set to elect their next president, which will have a massive effect on the lives of migrants looking to make a new life in America.

Media reports said the caravans are composed of nationals from Central America, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Cuba and other countries.

Immigration has been a cornerstone of the campaigns of US presidential candidates, specifically former President Donald Trump, who has made a name for his anti-immigrant policies.

"I would like Harry (Kamala Harris) to win totally as a migrant, but as a Venezuelan, I would vote for Trump because he would support Venezuela more in getting rid of (Nicolas) Maduro. Trump is stronger. He has demonstrated this in his campaigns and during his previous term. So, as a Venezuelan, I would vote for Trump, but as a migrant, I would vote for Harry," said Gregorio Gonzalez, 40, from Venezuela.

Two days before the election, Trump threatened Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum with imposing a 25% tariff on Mexican goods if the flow of migrants to the northern border was not stopped, in addition to promising massive deportations and a closure of the US southern border to stop what he and his loyalists consider an "invasion" of refugees.

During her news conference Tuesday, Sheinbaum claimed that migrant encounters at the northern border fell 75% when comparing numbers from December 2023 to October 2024.

As of August, however, Mexican authorities reported a 193% increase in reported migration flows in the first six months of 2024 compared to last year, which could potentially hint that as migratory flows soar, Mexico is looking to contain it within its territory.
Mexican authorities have been strongly criticized by human rights groups as their strategy to contain migration on Mexican soil has heavily relied on the military, which has triggered human rights abuses, including murder.

Under Sheinbaum's administration, which started Oct. 1, the Mexican military has been involved in two armed attacks against unarmed migrants at both borders of the country.

On Oct. 2, military officers shot at and killed six migrants in Chiapas, and again on Nov. 2, National Guard officers shot and killed two Colombian migrants in Baja California in northwestern Mexico.

"Well, as soon as you cross the border with Guatemala, all the way here, you don't know who to trust. If you see a border agent, you're afraid. If you see a police officer, you're afraid. If you see a soldier, you're afraid. If you see a truck without plates, you're also afraid. You don't know who to trust," a South American migrant, who asked not to be identified because he lives in fear of persecution, told Anadolu,