A CARAVAN of about 4000 Central American migrants travelling through Mexico has split up into several groups.
One group spent the night in a town in the coastal state of Veracruz, while other migrants – mainly men and younger members of the group – continued walking or hitching rides toward Puebla and Mexico City.
The divisions came during a tense day in which tempers flared and some migrants argued with caravan organisers and criticised Mexican officials.
They were upset that Veracruz governor Miguel Angel Yunes had reneged on an offer to provide buses on Saturday to move the migrants to Mexico City.
Caravan organisers have pleaded for buses in recent days after three weeks on the road, hitching rides and walking.
In a statement, they lambasted the officials for directing them through Veracruz, calling it the “route of death”.
The trek takes them through a state where hundreds of migrants have disappeared in recent years, falling prey to kidnappers looking for ransom payments.
Authorities in Veracruz said in September they had discovered remains from at least 174 people buried in clandestine graves.
In response to the caravans, US president Donald Trump has ordered more than 7000 active duty troops to deploy to Texas, Arizona and California ahead of next week’s mid-term elections.
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