Many of the people in the group — which is led organized by a volunteer organization called Pueblos Sin Fronteras, or People Without Borders — are traveling to the US through Mexico from Honduras to seek asylum, organizers told BuzzFeed News. Honduras currently has one of the highest murder rates in the world, and the December reelection of its president, Juan Orlando Hernández, was met with days of violent protest and allegations of voter fraud.
“If this caravan bothers him, then it also bothers me that he supported people like Juan Orlando who oppresses the people, destroys the economy of the country, and creates a humanitarian crisis,” Irineo Mujica, director of Pueblos Sin Fronteras, told BuzzFeed News. “We didn’t create that humanitarian crisis. They want to stop the humanitarian crisis how? Stopping these people? The crisis is in Honduras, and he was part of the chaos that occurred in the country.”
US support for Hernandez didn’t begin with Trump: President Barack Obama’s administration also backed the leader, viewing allegations of domestic corruption and abuse as secondary to his willingness to cooperate with the United States on security issues.
