TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — About 300 migrants walked out of this southern Mexican metropolis Wednesday, hoping to maneuver north, even because the activist who helped manage them remained in police custody over allegations of human trafficking.
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that Luis García Villagrán, the chief of an area nongovernmental group arrested Tuesday in Tapachula, “will not be an activist.” She stated he was tied to trafficking individuals, “that’s the crime.”
Sheinbaum stated Wednesday throughout her every day information briefing that there had been an arrest order pending for García Villagrán for years. It was unknown why the outspoken and really public determine hadn’t been arrested earlier.
The group of migrants that left Tapachula, close to the border with Guatemala, earlier Wednesday was small compared to migrant caravans in years previous. There was little or no motion of migrants in public since U.S. President Donald Trump took workplace in January, although migration numbers had been falling even previous to that.
These strolling Wednesday stated their purpose was not reaching the USA, however fairly central Mexico. They complained that that they had been ready for months to legalize their standing or obtain asylum.
In recent times, the Mexican authorities has labored to comprise migrants in southern Mexico — removed from the border with the USA. At instances, this technique has swollen migrant numbers in Tapachula till lots of set out strolling in protest. Chiapas is Mexico’s poorest state and migrants complain there may be little work or out there housing.
Johnny López of Ecuador walked together with his spouse and three youngsters, together with a child born in Tapachula whereas they awaited a dedication on their asylum software, which was finally rejected. Now they deliberate to journey to Mexico Metropolis the place López hoped to search out work to assist his household.
The migrants had been escorted by immigration brokers, police, marines and paramedics.
Heyman Vázquez, a Catholic priest, additionally accompanied them. He referred to as García Villagran’s arrest “unjust.”
Vázquez stated it confirmed the Mexican authorities’s concern over migrant caravans, which he stated could be resolved by making it simpler for migrants to legalize their immigration standing.
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Comply with AP’s protection of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
