On Monday night, Guatemalan police confirmed that they, alongside soldiers and other law enforcement, broke up a group of hundreds of migrants who had spent two nights stuck at a roadblock on a rural highway, headed for the US in a caravan. Some migrants allegedly threw rocks at authorities while they were being sprayed with tear gas. Migrants with children were treated gently, according to law enforcement.
This marks the first US-bound migrant caravan this year. The caravan was stalled just days before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration was set to occur. Biden has vowed to take a different approach to immigration, however, immediate changes are unlikely. The group in the caravan numbered roughly 2,000 when it was broken up and pushed into Guatemala on Friday night. Some migrants agreed to be bused back to the Honduran border whereas a small number have been forcibly sent back.