Skip to main content

Guatemala: Population Movement (MDRGT016) - DREF Plan of Action

Countries
Guatemala
+ 3 more
Sources
IFRC
Publication date
Origin
View original

A. Situation analysis

Description of the disaster

A massive population movement, known as a caravan, departed from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on 14 January 2020. These migration flows have been occurring in the Central American Northern Triangle since October 13, 2018, when the first caravan of 8,500 people originating in Honduras and caused a humanitarian crisis at the Guatemala-Mexico border.

Some 2,000 people, including men, women, young people, pregnant women, members of the LGBTIQ community and children, departed from San Pedro Sula on 14 January 2020. On 15 January, Guatemala's Migration Institute registered 662 individuals entering the country through the Customs Office at Corinto, Izabal and 1,612 individuals through the Customs Office at Agua Caliente, Chiquimula, both in north-eastern Guatemala. During the following days, the number of migrants crossing the country has increased to an estimated amount of 4,000 people, according to The Guatemalan Migration Authorities.

This caravan has once again made Guatemala a high-transit country. Migrants are using two main routes: one starting at the Agua Caliente border crossing in Chiquimula, continuing through Guatemala City, and ending at the southern Guatemala-Mexico border in the city of Tecún Umán in the municipality of Ayutla, San Marcos, using the CA-2 highway; and the second starting at the Corinto border crossing in Izabal department, continuing along the PET-15 highway at Km 243 to the municipality of Santa Elena, Petén and ending at the border crossing at Técnica and El Ceibo (Petén- Guatemala-Tenosique-Mexico).