Thousands of Central American migrants crossing Mexico toward the United States in a caravan resumed their long trek Wednesday, walking about 12 hours to their next destination.
The migrants, who have drawn near-daily Twitter tirades from US President Donald Trump, walked and hitched rides from the town of Huixtla, in southern Mexico, to Mapastepec, some 60 kilometers (40 miles) away.
Carrying their few belongings on their backs — many with babies pressed to their chests or holding their children by the hand — they left at dawn after taking a one-day break to rest, bathe and nurse aching and injured feet.
“I miss my country. I’m not doing this because I want to. No one wants to leave their home to go to a place they don’t know. But sometimes necessity pushes us to do this, because of what’s happening in our countries,” said Delmer Martinez, a migrant from El Salvador.
Fleeing violent crime, political unrest and poverty at home, the migrants say they are determined to reach the United States — despite Trump’s vows to stop them, and his threats to cut aid to Central American countries, as well as to deploy the military and close the southern US border.
