The organizer of an immigrant caravan heading from Honduras to the US was taken into detention in Guatemala on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump told the government of Honduras to stop the flow of undocumented immigrants or risk losing US aid and funding.
Guatemalan police officers detained the Former Honduran member of Congress, Bartolo Fuentes, in the middle of a crowd that he and three others have led since Saturday from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, in a bid to get to Mexico. Fuentes was detained for not complying with Guatemala’s immigration rules, according to the Honduran security ministry, and will soon be sent back to Honduras.
Organizers estimate that almost 3,000 immigrants crossed to Guatemala from Honduras on Monday on their northward trek, following a confrontation with Guatemalan police and declarations from Washington that they should not attempt an illegal entry to the US. There are no official figures from Guatemala about how many immigrants make up the group. On Twitter, President Donald Trump warned that the US government had told the President of Honduras that aid and money to Honduras would be immediately stopped if the immigrants are not stopped and sent back to Honduras.
Vice President Mike Pence also used social media to reveal that he had spoken to Juan Orlando Hernandez, the President of Honduras. Pence told countries in Central America last week that the US would help with investment and economic development if more was done to tackle corruption, gang violence, and illegal immigration.