Migrants Scuffle with Police as Caravan Reaches Mexico’s Southern Border

Mexican authorities managed to hold off approximately 1,000 Central American migrants who tried to force their way through its southern border with Guatemala.

A scuffle that went on for approximately one hour took place at the midway point of one of the ports of entry on the Suchiate River. Migrants initially tried to force their way through the international boundary. According to Mexico’s Revista Proceso, Mexican National Guard troops and immigration officials using riot shields managed to hold the line and close the gates as the migrants tried to force their way in.

La odisea por la que pasan nuestros compatriotas, al querer ingresar a México, por la frontera con Guatemala en Tecún Umán.#CaravanaMigrante

Video Cortesía. pic.twitter.com/8lfAwuzXKU

— Xochilth Rodriguez (@xrodriguezhn) January 18, 2020

A series of videos posted on social media revealed the intensity of the scuffle. Many of the male migrants used clothing or bandanas to cover their faces as they attempted to force the gates open.

#ULTIMAHORA Migrantes centroamericanos causan tumultos en la frontera México – Guatemala para intentar romper el bloqueo de la Guardia Nacional Mexicana que les impide ingresar ilegalmente a México. #CaravanaMigrante pic.twitter.com/POa6TSFgzL

— Pablo Latapí Ortega (@PabloLatapi) January 18, 2020

During the scuffle, Mexican officials kept telling the migrants that they would only allow entry to those seeking to claim asylum or seek another immigration status in Mexico. According to Proceso, after an hour of scuffles, the group calmed down and authorities began allowing 20 migrants at a time to enter Mexico to claim asylum.

As Breitbart Texas reported, earlier this week, Mexico’s top officials announced they would not provide transit visas or other forms of passage for migrants looking to reach the U.S.-Mexico border. Mexican authorities would only allow entry migrants looking to obtain legal status in Mexico.

On Friday, the government of Mexico offered about 4,000 jobs to caravan migrants from Honduras.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for the Breitbart Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.