When President Trump told the skeptical and hostile media that criminals, drug dealers, and human smugglers were embedded within the approaching caravan, few believe him.
However, reports from the embattled Mexican authorities are finally coming to light. Within just the last few days, two serious and separate incidents took place in Mexico. The first involved two Hondurans who allegedly opened fire at Mexican police, escorting the migrant caravan in the southern region of Chiapas.
The police were escorting the caravan as part of their assistance operation dubbed “Operativo Caminante” or “Operation Walker” when they were suddenly attacked by the two migrant Hondurans, identified only as 22-year-old “Jerson” and 17-year-old “Carlos.”
The duo spotted the police escorting the caravan and suddenly began firing at them. Luckily the pistol jammed, allowing police officers to rush the two and arrest them without anyone being injured. Police seized a .380 caliber Glock with 9-rounds still in the magazine.
The unprovoked attack follows on the heels of another serious incident of a Molotov cocktail attack involving the more violent prone second caravan near the border of Guatemala.
The report has confirmed that criminal migrants still in Guatemala are preparing Molotov cocktails and arming themselves for a potential assault against Mexican police, with the sole purpose of breaking through the Mexican border.
This past weekend saw an escalating and bloody confrontation between the Mexican police and rock-throwing migrants attempting to break through border security forces.
A second incident took place as a group of migrants facing deportation from Mexico back to their home country went on a rampage – setting fire to an immigration facility, hoping to overwhelm authorities in an apparent attempt to escape.
The fire began at a facility which serves a duel-purpose, first as a checkpoint and then as a temporary detention center for Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) in Pijijiapan, Chiapas.
According to Jaime Marroquin, a local public safety director, a group of migrants housed temporarily within the facility set fire to their mattresses. The 21 men and 5-woman and 3-children, were all in the process of being deported back to their home country when the migrants set fire to their mattresses hoping to escape within the initial confusion. Fortunately, their attempt failed.
Firefighters rushed to the scene, while Mexican police rounded up the suspects before they could flee, moving them to a more secure and larger immigration facility in Tapachula, Chiapas.
The violence followed Mexico’s generous offer last week of providing migrants within the caravan jobs, healthcare and education, instead of continuing their journey to the United States.
The migrants quickly rejected the offer of asylum, jobs, and benefits, and instead opted to continue their journey.
According to the Mexican government, the program called “Estas En Tu Casa” translated “You Are in Your Home” is designed to help migrants claiming asylum. The program provides the migrants with temporary employment, access to government-funded health care, and education for their children.
Also, to be eligible for the program migrants and their families must be in the country legally and reach out to immigration authorities who will sign them up.
Currently, only the southern Mexican states of Chiapas and Oaxaca are making this government program available. However, those migrants who entered Mexico “illegally” within the caravan will have the opportunity to begin the immigration process and must also follow Mexico’s immigration law.
The government will also make available their version of social security called CURP (Clave Unica de Registro Publico), by giving each migrant a government number that will allow them to open bank accounts and carry out other government required identification processes.
Not surprisingly, the vast majority of migrants have turned down the offer and instead are still heading for the United States.
Homeland Security is monitoring the caravans and has disclosed through their intelligence sources that at least 300 individuals traveling within the thousands of displaced migrants have criminal records – some for attempted murder.
Mexican government officials were the first to clash with some of the criminal element within the caravan, and are sharing their INTEL with Homeland Security describing some as “very violent.”
In addition, surveillance drones along with government officials are acknowledging that over 50% of the caravans are made up by single adult males ranging in age from 18 to about 40 years of age. Another ploy being used by the overwhelmingly male caravan is to place woman and children in front of the caravan so that the media gets the impression that the majority of asylum seekers are mothers with children.
