Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei said today that the country has turned back a convoy of nearly 3,500 Honduran immigrants headed for the United States amid concerns about the spread of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
In a televised message, Jamaday said that Guatemalan security forces were able to “stop” the convoy, adding that the convoy was a factor in the spread of the virus.
The epidemic that Guatemala went through, it took us months to bring it under control,” Jamaday said. He added that it is an “obligation” to reduce the risk of further exposure to infection.
According to the IGM, the convoy entered the country from the east of Guatemala on the first day, broke through the military blockade at the Corinto border, and then split up into groups to move on to Mexico, where the border is closed.
Immigration has become a sensitive issue for political conservatives such as President Donald Trump, who is seeking re-election next month, and he is threatening Mexico with higher tariffs to take action and block undocumented immigrants.
On the 2nd and 3rd of this month, hundreds of Guatemala’s military and police personnel also erected roadblocks to force migrants, including young children and wheelchair-bound people with disabilities, to turn back.
The Guatemala Immigration Department said that 15 people in the convoy had applied for asylum in Guatemala.
Guatemala has a population of about 17 million, and since March, the 2019 coronavirus disease has infected 93,963 people and caused 3,293 deaths.
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