Henry Diaz, 26, died Sunday after receiving a rubber bullet in the head during clashes with the Mexican Federal Police on the border between Mexico and Guatemala, reported sources from Guatemala’s National Police.
Mexican Police deployed on the Mexican border in order to prevent migrants from crossing and reaching Mexican territory. They used tear gas and rubber bullets against the caravan that included children and women.
On Sunday afternoon, dozens of the Salvadorans had arrived at the border with Guatemala and were having their documents checked, having walked and hitched rides in pickups and on buses from the capital.
optó por permitirles ingresar, pues en todo momento se vela por el interés superior del niño. Adicionalmente se desaprueba el uso de la fuerza para alcanzar objetivos personales, así como la utilización de grupos vulnerables para el alcance de dichos objetivos.4/6 pic.twitter.com/tp2PMcB9Hy
— PNC Guatemala (@PNCdeGuatemala) October 29, 2018
They organized using social networks like Facebook and WhatsApp over the last couple of weeks, inspired by the larger group in Mexico.
Salvadoran police traveled with the group, who carried backpacks and water bottles and protected themselves from the hot sun with hats.
Several migrants, gathered by the capital’s ‘Savior of the World’ statue before leaving, said they were headed to the United States.
Confirmado un migrante hondureño fallecido por bala de goma de @PoliciaFedMx en puente entre #Guatemala y #México @teleSURtv pic.twitter.com/CSdNAaXSkG
— Pablo Pérez (@ppereztelesur) October 29, 2018
El Salvador’s left-wing government said it had solidarity with the migrants and respected their right to mobilize, but urged them not to risk their lives on the way.
In Mexico, the original group of Hondurans, exhausted by constant travel in blistering heat, spent Sunday resting up in the town of Tapanatepec, Oaxaca, planning to head north at 3 a.m. on Monday.
An estimated 2,300 children were traveling with the migrant caravan, UNICEF said in a statement, adding that they needed protection and access to essential services like healthcare, clean water and sanitation.
Eduardo Grajales, a Red Cross volunteer in Arriaga, Mexico, attending to migrants on Friday night, said the worst case his colleagues had seen that day was of a baby so badly sunburned from the tropical heat, he had to be hospitalized.
