Caravan of 2,000 migrants prepares to enter u.S.

A caravan of 2,000 Central American migrants is on its way to the Border between Mexico and the United States on Monday, 20. The group is still in Guatemala's territory and is expected to reach the Mexican border in the coming days, in clear challenge to Andrés Manuel López Obrador's government's commitment to curb migration movements.

Some smaller groups have crossed the border with Mexico last weekend, despite efforts by Mexican police to block the passage of Central Americans. But most people remain in the border town of Tecún Umán,Guatemala, waiting for more members in the caravan to cross the border.

According to Mexico's Interior Ministry, the country received about 1,100 migrants from the states of Chiapas and Tabasco and offered several asylum options, according to different migration status, and jobs in the south of the country. However, those who do not accept the proposal or seek refuge will not receive the safe conduct pass that allows entry into the United States.

It was not clear what kind of work Mexico has in mind for migrants, as the country's poverty rate is 34.8% and more than 2 million Mexicans are unemployed. The country, however, is still threatened by Donald Trump's administration of imposing trade barriers if new caravans reach the southern border.

According to the Guatemalan government, at least 4,000 people have come from Honduras since Wednesday 15, in one of the biggest waves since these two countries. In addition to Mexico and El Salvador,Guatemala has also signed an agreement with Washington to maintain those seeking refuge in the United States in its territories until it is analyzed.

After the iconic October 2018 caravan, which gathered more than 4,000 people in Tecun Uman at that time to avoid increasing tariffs in bilateral trade, the Mexican president sent 6,000 National Guard soldiers to the Guatemalan border to block the migrant caravan.

Meanwhile, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras signed the Asylum Cooperation Agreementin exchange for the release of U.S. economic aid of $143 million, according to The Washington Post.