Mexico | Thousands of migrants head for the United States

(Mexico City) A “caravan” of several thousand migrants set out on Monday in southern Mexico with the intention of reaching the United States, on the first day of the Summit of the Americas, which is being held in Los Angeles and must address migration issues.

The group, made up of men, women and children from Central America and Venezuela, set off in the rain from Tapachula on the Guatemalan border to the border with the United States more than 3000 km further south. north, noted an AFP photographer and videographer. No official figures were available.

“Migrants are not criminals, they are international workers,” proclaimed a banner held up by members of the caravan. “Freedom, freedom”, “We want visas”, shouted other marchers, some of whom sang the Venezuelan anthem.

“We tell the heads of state of the countries meeting today at the Summit of the Americas that migrant women and children, that migrant families, are not currencies” for “ideological and political interests “, told AFP Luis Garcia, of the NGO Dignificacion Humana, which accompanies the migrants.

Omar Herrera, a Venezuelan, said he left his country and his job at a university because his salary [lui] allowed to live”: “Without sacrifice, there is no victory”, he added.

On the occasion of the Summit of the Americas, Democratic President Joe Biden hopes to conclude a regional cooperation agreement on immigration, an explosive subject which has earned him violent criticism from the Republican opposition.

One of its main partners in Latin America, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, confirmed on Monday that he would not go to the summit because the United States did not invite Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. for violations of democracy and human rights.

The “caravans” of migrants crossing Mexico have been subjects of tension with the United States since the time of US President Donald Trump (2017-2021).

The number of people seeking to enter the United States after fleeing poverty and violence in Central America and Haiti has been steadily rising for months.