The sixth caravan to leave southern Mexico since the country’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, took office on October 1 left Tapachula yesterday. The most recent such departure prior to Wednesday occurred on November 5, when a caravan of about 2,500 left the southern city en route to the US border. Since such caravans typically reach Mexico City more or less intact, but then disperse, it is difficult to judge that group’s fate, with some sources saying the migrants gave up and went home and others saying they made it to the northern reaches of Mexico.
Yesterday’s caravan consisted of about 1,500 migrants, mostly Central American single adults and family units. Independent journalist Auden Cabello announced the departure on social media, saying:
[The migrants] have openly admitted they’re in a rush to get in before Trump’s inauguration. They gave up waiting on CBP One and in a last minute desperate move, they left in caravan. They will attempt to get on the train and make it to the border as soon as they can.
The “train” referred to is a freight train, dubbed variously “the Beast” and “the Train of Death,” long used by migrants to traverse some of the more than 3,000 miles between Mexico’s borders. Breitbart Texas reports that, for the moment, the Mexican government is not allowing migrants to use the trains for that purpose. Breitbart’s Randy Clark reports that sources have told him that while there is still some use of the trains, the numbers are far less than last year’s.
Members of the caravan have told reporters that they hope to reach the border “before he (Trump) takes office.”
For more, see Breitbart News.