The migrant caravan of 2021: thousands flee from the Honduran crisis

Approximately 7000 Honduran citizens are travelling through Guatemalan territory in the first migrant caravan of 2021. This exodus, possibly the largest since 2018, comes despite the pandemic and the widespread police and military deployment in Honduras and Guatemala.

According to data from the Ministry of the Interior from Jan. 16, 173 Honduran migrants have been deported back to Honduras, including 30 minors. In Chiquimula state, a large group of migrants came up against a Guatemalan military and police barrier. The government of Guatemala called on the Honduran authorities to contain the mass exit of their citizens through preemptive measures. A formal state of emergency remains in place in the territory through which the caravan will pass.

2000 Honduran members of the migrant caravan were detained by the Guatemalan police before they arrived at the border post of El Florido. The border between Honduras and Guatemala, Jan. 16 2021. Photo by Deiby Yánes.

A Honduran mother crosses the border between Honduras and Guatemala carrying her baby in her arms after migrants broke through a barrier set up by the Military Police. El Florido, border between Honduras and Guatemala, Jan. 16, 2021. Photo: Deiby Yánes.

Guatemalan military personnel watch the caravan as it enters Guatemalan territory. The Guatemalan government lamented the transgression of their border and asked Honduras to take measures to contain the flow of migrants. El Florido, border between Honduras and Guatemala, Jan. 16, 2021. Photo: Deiby Yánes.

Marcia Fúnez, originally from Olanchito in Yoro state, travels in the caravan with her daughters. She lost her house in the floods that resulted from tropical storm Eta. With nothing to lose in her home country, she looks for a better future in another. El Florido, border between Honduras and Guatemala, Jan. 16, 2021. Photo: Deiby Yánes.

A mother waits with her daughters, seated with the rest of the caravan, for the Guatemalan police to allow them to pass. The migrants sang the national anthem of Honduras while they waited. El Florido, border between Honduras and Guatemala, Jan. 16, 2021. Photo: Deiby Yánes.

Wendy and her eight-year-old daughter — one of three — prayed alongside other members of the caravan for divine protection and to be able to continue their journey to the United States. El Florido, border between Honduras and Guatemala, Jan. 16, 2021. Photo: Deiby Yánes.

Honduran women in the caravan fall to their knees, invoking the power of God to help them advance through Guatemalan territory. El Florido, border between Honduras and Guatemala, Jan. 16, 2021. Photo: Deiby Yánes.

After having to force their way into Guatemalan territory, the caravan left shoes, bags, and other belongings in their wake. El Florido, border between Honduras and Guatemala, Jan. 16, 2021. Photo: Deiby Yánes.

Aerial view of the migrants entering Guatemalan territory. The immigration authorities have detained 1,108 Hondurans, 173 of whom have already been deported. El Florido, border between Honduras and Guatemala, Jan. 16, 2021. Photo: Deiby Yánes.

The caravan at the Honduran immigration checkpoint at El Florido customs. Between Friday night and Saturday morning, 7,000 Honduran migrants entered into Guatemala via the caravan. El Florido, border between Honduras and Guatemala, Jan. 16, 2021. Photo: Deiby Yánes.

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