US President Donald Trump has allegedly warned Mexico that it must stop a migrant caravan moving toward the US border or face a doubling of tariffs, a threat the Trump regime presented as a response to what it claimed was a new migration emergency. In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said “Huge CARAVANS are forming and beginning their illegal march through Mexico,” and asserted that many in the groups are people “various countries don’t want.” The statement came after Republican losses in last week’s midterm elections and as more than a thousand migrants began walking through southern Mexico.
Key Takeaways: Trump’s tariff threat would double duties on Mexico unless it stops the caravan; the post followed Republican midterm losses; and reports said about 1,500 people, mostly Central Americans, set off from Tapachula in Chiapas. Mexican authorities reportedly detained about 40 people from a smaller group near the Suchiate River, while the larger caravan continued toward Mexico City.
The caravan, called “God With Us,” left Tapachula near the Guatemalan border on Tuesday, according to Reuters, and a Chiapas state government source estimated about 1,500 people were taking part, including families with small children. Migrants said they first aimed to reach Mexico City, more than 1,000km away, to seek help from Mexican authorities and protection from detention. Tapachula has become a key transit point where thousands have been stranded by US entry restrictions and deportations, with limited jobs, healthcare and schooling.
According to the account, many migrants said the Democratic victory in congressional elections — purportedly a rebuke of Trump’s immigration policies — gave them new hope. Cesar Sandoval, a 47-year-old Nicaraguan deported from the US a few months ago, said: “There might be a light at the end of the tunnel, a way for us to get in. We believe the Democrats will help us.” The report also said Texas elected Gina Hinojosa, described as the first Latina to lead the state, and that Trump was putting the incoming Democratic governor on notice.
On Tuesday, Mexico’s National Guard, immigration authorities and police in Chiapas reportedly moved to stop a separate group of about 100 Central American migrants who had crossed the Suchiate River from Guatemala, according to AFP; about 40 were detained, local reports said. The larger group had crossed on Sunday evening without resistance, and it is the third caravan to try to reach the US since September, with the other two broken up before leaving Chiapas and members given temporary stay permits. Ivan Porraz, a researcher at the College of the Southern Border, was quoted as saying: “As long as Trump remains president, the deportations will not stop.” The next test will be whether Mexico adjusts enforcement and whether the tariff threat is formally pursued by the US regime.
Source: www.aljazeera.com