Gang members and angry young men are part of the Central American caravan that originated in the northern Honduran city of San Pedro Sula and is making its way towards the United States. The caravan also includes Africans, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Indians.
Judicial Watch, covering events from the Guatemalan-Honduran border this week, observed that the mainstream media narrative of desperate migrants—many of them women and children—seeking a better life – is not entirely accurate.
Guatemalan intelligence officials confirmed the caravan includes Special Interest Aliens (SIA) from Africa and Asia as well as criminal elements and gang members.
There are also large groups of men, some with criminal histories, demanding the U.S. take them in. During a visit to the Guatemalan town of Chiquimula, about 35 miles from the Honduran border, Judicial Watch reported there was “a rowdy group of about 600 men, ages 17 to about 40, marching north on a narrow two-lane highway.”
“We’re not scared,” said a man who appeared to be in his 30s, waving his index finger, as others around him nodded in agreement. “We’re going to the United States to get jobs.”
Others chanted “vamos para allá Trump!” (We’re coming Trump) as they clenched their fists in the air.
“We need money and food,” said a 29-year-old man who made the trek with his 21-year-old brother.
All of the migrants interviewed by Judicial Watch repeated the same line when asked who organized the caravan — that it was a spontaneous event.
Judicial Watch observed that there appeared to be organizers giving instructions in Spanish and orchestrating which persons would appear in front of cameras for interviews. Those interviewed said the caravan was not about politics but rather poverty.
“I just want to get back to the U.S.,” said a 32-year-old man who admitted he has been deported from the U.S. twice. “We are all just looking for work.”
One marcher, who appeared to be in his late teens, shouted, “you go live in Honduras and see what it’s like!”
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, a conservative, said in a local newspaper report that leftist interests seeking to destabilize the country are manipulating migrants. Women and children are being used without regard to the risks to their lives, and many have returned to the country after realizing they’ve been fooled, Hernández said.
The first wave of migrants totaled about 4,000, according to Guatemalan government sources, followed by a second, less organized group of about 2,000. Guatemala immigration officials confirmed 1,700 migrants have been returned to Honduras on buses.
“There are only so many resources we can dedicate to this,” said Guatemalan Secretary of Strategic Intelligence Mario Duarte. Guatemalans are getting robbed and crimes are being committed by the people in the caravans, Duarte said.