GUALAN, Guatemala -- About 2,000 Hondurans hoping to reach the United States entered Guatemala on foot Thursday morning, testing the newly reopened frontier that had been shut by the coronavirus pandemic.
Authorities had planned to register the migrants as they crossed and offer assistance to those willing to turn back, but the group crossed the official border at Corinto without registering, pushing past outnumbered Guatemalan police and soldiers who made little attempt to stop them.
Within hours of the border crossing, Guatemalan authorities reported the first migrant death. A person tried to climb aboard a moving flatbed trailer, but fell under its wheels. Authorities did not immediately provide any additional details.
Central American migrants began traveling in large groups in recent years, seeking safety in numbers and in some cases avoiding the cost of smugglers. Calls for a new migrant caravan to leave Thursday had circulated for weeks on social media.
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But the majority of the migrants who gathered Wednesday decided not to wait for October, instead setting out in the dark of night carrying knapsacks and many wearing masks. The groups quickly strung out along the highway with some catching rides while others continued to walk toward the Guatemala border.
The larger group that set out Wednesday night appeared to be mostly young men, though there were the occasional small children being pushed in strollers.
At the border, Guatemalan officials were asking the migrants to provide documents showing a negative covid-19 test -- even though they said last week that they wouldn't require a test for those spending less than 72 hours in the country.
But about 2,000 migrants hustled through without registering. In addition, AP journalists saw others crossing the border illegally near the formal crossing. There were no reports of violence.
Governments throughout the region made known that they were watching Wednesday. Mexico's immigration agency said in a statement that it would enforce "safe, orderly and legal" migration and not do anything to promote the formation of a caravan. The U.S. Embassy in Honduras said Wednesday on Twitter that migration to the U.S. was more difficult than ever right now and more dangerous because of the pandemic.
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The U.N.'s International Labor Organization said Wednesday that at least 34 million jobs have been lost in Latin America during the pandemic. The agency lists Latin America and the Caribbean as the worst-hit region in the world in terms of lost working hours, with a drop of 20.9% in the first three quarters of the year.
Mexico has typically offered migrants the opportunity to seek asylum there, but many have their minds set on the United States. Migrants are also likely to find it more difficult to find work in Mexico now as the economy is expected to contract 10% this year from the impact of the pandemic.
The departure of the group Wednesday night was reminiscent of a migrant caravan that formed two years ago shortly before U.S. midterm elections.
Under pressure from the U.S. government last year, Mexico took a more aggressive approach toward migrants. It deployed its National Guard to intercept them on highways and worked to keep large caravans seen in previous years from forming.
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Information for this article was contributed by Christopher Sherman of The Associated Press.
