US president Donald Trump threatened to deploy the military and close the southern US border on Thursday as more Hondurans and Salvadorans joined thousands of migrants in Guatemala headed north.
"I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught – and if unable to do so I will call up the US Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!", Mr Trump wrote on Twitter.
Several thousand Honduran migrants travelled this week through Guatemala in the direction of Mexico, with some hoping to cross into the United States. Central American migrants hiked from Honduras through muddy jungle and residential streets, some toting babies along with backpacks.
....In addition to stopping all payments to these countries, which seem to have almost no control over their population, I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught - and if unable to do so I will call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 18, 2018
I am watching the Democrat Party led (because they want Open Borders and existing weak laws) assault on our country by Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, whose leaders are doing little to stop this large flow of people, INCLUDING MANY CRIMINALS, from entering Mexico to U.S.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 18, 2018
In Guatemala City, where migrant shelters filled with people, waves of people departed at daybreak on roads leading to Mexico. The nearest border is about 177km away.
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo prepared to travel later in the day to Panama and then Mexico City, where he was to meet with Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto on Friday.
Mexico's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mexico's incoming foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, said he was not surprised by Mr Trump's comments, but did not elaborate.
The US president, who has sought to curtail immigration and build a border wall on the Mexican border, this week threatened to halt aid if Central American governments did not act.
Mr Trump ran for president in 2016 on promises to toughen US immigration policies and build a wall along the US border with Mexico.
Trump tweets
Illegal immigration is likely to be a top issue in November 6th US congressional elections, when Democrats are seen as having a good chance of gaining control of the House of Representatives from Mr Trump’s fellow Republicans.
Frustrated by Congress’s failure to fully fund his proposed wall at the border with Mexico, Mr Trump in April ordered National Guard personnel to help the Department of Homeland Security secure the border in four southwestern US states.
In a string of tweets on Thursday, Mr Trump also said the issue was more important to him than the new trade deal with Mexico, which is to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada.
“The assault on our country at our Southern Border, including the Criminal elements and DRUGS pouring in, is far more important to me, as President, than Trade or the USMCA. Hopefully Mexico will stop this onslaught at their Northern Border,” Mr Trump wrote. He was referring to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is awaiting ratification.
The caravan has been growing steadily since it left the violent Honduran city of San Pedro Sula on Saturday. There are no official estimates of the size of the group.
Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales said on Wednesday his government dismissed threatened constraints placed on foreign aid.
He said he had spoken with Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez about ensuring the migrants who wanted to return home could do so safely. – Reuters