The Guatemalan Institute of Migration (IGM) expelled this Sunday to Honduras 111 Cuban, Venezuelan, Uruguayan and Dominican migrants, for “ fail to comply with immigration requirements established” for their legal entry.
These people were intercepted by members of the National Civil Police during the supervision of two buses that are regularly carried out in the municipality of Taxisco; while the drivers Victor Vásquez and Carlos Ramírez were detained and could face charges for migrant smuggling.
The municipality of Taxisco is one of the Blind spots in which the authorities have detected the passage of irregular migrants in transit from the department of Santa Rosa to Escuintla. Agua Caliente, Chiquimula, Guatemala City and Tecún Umán are the other alert regions for the Guatemalan immigration authorities.
Faced with this exodus, a police and military fence was established to prevent the passage of migrants to the United States. Last month some 1,200 Army troops were deployed to operate the immigration checkpoints.
On February 1 of this year, the Guatemalan deputies approved Decree 5-2022 of reform to the Migration Law, which establishes more severe penalties against the structures that are dedicated to human trafficking.
#Information | During the night of yesterday, multisectoral operations were carried out in different parts of the city. The purpose of the participation @MigrationGuate is to verify that foreigners meet the immigration requirements. pic.twitter.com/LleoLZLMkq
– Guatemala Migration (@MigrationGuate) November 13, 2022
According to the regulations, coyotes are penalized with between 10 and 30 uncommutable years in prison, as well as paying a fine ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 Quetzales ($12,481) for directly and indirectly obtaining an economic benefit from illegal entry and movement of people through Guatemalan territory. However, the measures do not seem to give results.
According to official figures, from September to November 10, they have expelled 9,435 people who entered the country illegally, of whom 482 are from the island. This year Guatemala has expelled 15,000 migrants, more than 70% are of Venezuelan origin, Migration detailed.
Security measures were redoubled by Guatemala at its borders, when in October the Joe Biden government began detaining and deporting Venezuelans who arrive at the border between the United States and Mexico.
To enter Guatemala, Cubans must present a consulted category C visa, have a valid passport, in addition to complying with the protocol established by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance, which since last august in which the PCR tests and the vaccination certificate were eliminated, it is limited to carrying a face mask.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio He is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for accompanying us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our newspaper. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
