By EFE
Dec 28, 2023, 17:35 PM EST
The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, accused human traffickers on Thursday of organizing migrant caravans, such as the one advancing through the south of that country and which is considered the largest of the year.
“Migration is encouraged, there is misinformation, there are also human traffickers who are dedicated to this and organize caravans to reach the United States, many times not informing the people,” said López Obrador in today’s morning conference, from the National Palace.
And we have to continue taking care of migrants, preventing them from being in danger, avoiding risks.”
His statements occurred during the advance of the migrant caravan that left on Christmas Eve from Tapachula, on the southern border of Mexico, with almost 10,000 people, the largest of the year and is now passing through the municipality of Escuintla, in the state of Chiapas. .
The advance of the caravan put pressure on the Mexican government during the visit this Wednesday of a United States delegation led by the Secretaries of State, Antony Blinken, and of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, to address the unprecedented rebound in the migratory flow in December. .
But, questioned by a journalist, the Mexican president rejected that the group of migrants was still so large, pointing out that it has dispersed.
“In the case of this caravan, they have already been staying in the southeast, because you talk about 8,000, today’s report I think is already 1,500, which they informed me a moment ago today,” he stated.
The group advances while in the month of December historic numbers of people seeking to enter the United States are recorded at the border with Mexico, where the US Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) confirmed on Tuesday the arrival of more than 2.2 million migrants from January to November.
Regarding his meeting with the United States delegation, López Obrador stated that he insisted to officials on the need to invest in development cooperation with Central American countries by ensuring that Mexico’s policy is to protect migrants.
“We talked about attention to the causes that cause migration, support for countries where out of necessity people have to leave their towns in search of work, we learned about how our country continues to help,” said the president of Mexico.
Keep reading:
– Meeting between envoys of Biden and López Obrador was “excellent,” says Mexican Foreign Minister
– NY Mayor issued an order against immigrant buses sent from the border
– Migrant caravan continues to advance in Mexico amid the presence of US officials