The US ambassador to Mexico on Tuesday accused the leaders of a migrant caravan marching north towards the Mexican-US border of enriching people smugglers and criminals.
The organizers say they are protecting human rights, “when in reality what they’re doing is (ensuring that) money goes to traffickers and criminals,” Ken Salazar said.
The United States and Mexico “are going to work together so that this does not happen,” added Salazar, a seasoned politician named ambassador by US President Joe Biden in June.
In recent months, tens of thousands of US-bound migrants fleeing poverty and violence have arrived in Mexico, where they risk exploitation by criminals and abuses by authorities.
Tensions have mounted between the Mexican authorities and the roughly 1,000 migrants who set off on foot from the southern city of Tapachula on October 23.
The caravan had planned to travel to Mexico City to demand legal documents.
But one of its leaders, Mexican activist Irineo Mujica, said in a video posted on social media on Monday that he would organize an even bigger group to travel to the US-Mexican border instead.
“We’ll have a caravan of 10,000. We’re not going to Mexico City. We’re going to the northern border, if they insist on imprisoning us like animals,” he said.
Mexican authorities accuse the caravan leaders of rejecting their offers of medical care and help with immigration procedures for pregnant women and children.
The activists say that would mean returning to Tapachula, which migrants have described as a giant, overcrowded “prison” with little prospect of finding work.
There have been clashes between security forces and migrants traveling in the caravan, resulting in a number of injuries and detentions.
Two Cubans were killed after National Guard agents opened fire on a vehicle carrying migrants around 15 kilometers (nine miles) from where the caravan was marching on October 31.
The Guards said the driver had ignored an order to stop and tried to ram a patrol vehicle.
