arrive at a camp where Mexican authorities will arrange permits for their continued travel north the town of San Pedro Tapanatepec is unexpectedly playing host to over 10,000 migrants camped far from the U.S one small town in southern Mexico is unexpectedly playing host to thousands of migrants camped far from the U.S when The Associated Press visited at the beginning of October Mayor Humberto Parrazales estimated the number had grown to 14,000 The AP could not independently verify that figure While many Venezuelans had planned to make their way to the U.S That leaves many camped out in five large tent shelters wondering what they’ll do next They while away the sweltering day with just a few electric fans to cut the heat San Pedro Tapanatepec is obviously not where they wanted to wind up The heat-drenched town in Oaxaca state is only about 180 miles (300 kilometers) from the border with Guatemala Many of the migrants had thought they left Guatemala behind forever on the long trek that took many of them from the Darian Gap in Panama the town has served as a way station where migrants would wait for a few days while Mexican immigration authorities issued them a sort of transit pass that gave them time to make it to the U.S But Parrazales said the flow of that paperwork has slowed down leaving many more migrants waiting here in an impoverished town ill-equipped to play host to so many people “I don’t understand anything,” Venezuelan migrant Robinson Rodríguez said by phone from Tapanatepec then they shouldn’t be handing out these (transit) passes Rodríguez had actually received a seven-day transit document which basically required him to leave Mexico within a week But he had to spend time raising the money to pay for transport to the northern border Nicaraguan migrant Luis Martinica showed a leaflet containing the web link for Venzuelans to apply Mayor Parrazales has his own set of worries The town’s transformers can no longer handle the electricity needed for the camp and Parrazales acknowledges the town has seen about $15 million in extra business selling migrants food “They have to pay to charge cell phones,” he notes Mexico has issued about 77,000 transit passes to Venezuelans so far this year Mexico’s National Immigration Institute did not respond to requests by the AP about how the camp will be managed after the new U.S In the face of the lack of official information says officials stopped issuing passes for a while “after a dispute in which some Venezuelans offended a police officer.” “There is a big lack of information,” Parrazales said “This is a pressure cooker I’m trying to contain here.” Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker he had a flight to catch to San Salvador that afternoon at 4:00 a.m to “return” to the United States What he didn’t expect was that a few weeks later he’d be kicking himself for having finally arrived in the United States He went to a health center in search of the yellow fever vaccine which is required for travel to South America and some taxi drivers involved with the coyotes drove them four hours to the Guatemalan […] World January 16 and some taxi drivers involved with the coyotes drove them four hours to the Guatemalan border emphasized on several occasions that the illegal tour is always done with a coyote These people are in charge of “the codes” used to communicate with immigration officials and even kidnappers It was not difficult for Jonás to enter Guatemala; the great sacrifice came when he set foot on Mexican soil The journey began when he arrived in Tapachula where months before they granted humanitarian visas that have been halted due to the massive migrant wave that is mobilizing across the borders The same thing happened at the National Migration Institute’s offices in San Pedro where he was also unable to obtain the valuable document that allows them to circulate freely Jonás and the other migrants with him traveled hundreds of kilometers without permits They were repeatedly detained by Mexican police and military authorities who demanded money for “their Christmas bonus.” There were 16 migrants on the bus from Tapachula to Mexico City “The problem starts with the fact that you have to pay from the beginning of Mexico to the end but it’s all with ‘keys,’ which is why the coyotes are more than necessary on that tour,” said the young man The contacts pay to ensure the safety of each migrant the majority of them were able to avoid being abducted by a gang Jonás recalls being in a vehicle one night when they had a flat tire but they had no idea what he was talking about The issue was that they had come to a halt in an area that did not belong to them “They held us for approximately three hours until the driver was unable to contact the largest contact including cell phones and money,” Jonás explains A Dominican had an altercation with the gang just moments before they were released Jonás witnessed how they thrashed him and then abandoned him to die The “big boss” called the gang manager and authorized the release at the end of the nightmare They also gave them their money and cell phone back Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" Economy North Coast Local Sports Health DominicanToday.com - The Dominican Republic News Source in English AWAITING THE CARAVAN: Police officers line up a temporary blockade as thousands of migrants from Central America MOVING FORWARD: Thousands of migrants from Central America Mexico – A U.S.-bound caravan of Central American migrants pressed on through southern Mexico on Saturday as authorities stepped up efforts to disperse the convoy that has angered President Donald Trump Mexican police in riot gear briefly blocked the march of men women and children as they neared Oaxaca state before dawn to relay the offer of temporary identification papers jobs or education for those seeking asylum in Mexico Trump has threatened to send troops to the U.S border and cut aid to Central America to try to stop the group of several thousand people that left Honduras two weeks ago Estimates vary significantly on the group’s size which has morphed as some migrants return home and newcomers join At least 150 migrants traveling separately were detained by Friday near Guatemala’s border More than 1,700 people in the convoy have applied for asylum The Honduran ambassador said on Friday the group officially had 3,500 members more than 100 Honduran migrants opted to seek refugee status and enter the temporary work program proposed by President Enrique Peña Nieto on Friday said Mexico’s National Migration Institute Because that’s our dream,” said 28-year-old Honduran Daniel Leonel Esteves at the head of a 50-person-wide column of migrants snaking down a highway into the hills Others echoed his goal to cross the border “Our destination is the United States,” said migrant Francisco Ramirez A police official on a road just south of Oaxaca where migrants were proceeding north from the town of Arriaga in Chiapas state said authorities intended to keep presenting the asylum offer “We think it’s very important that every person in the caravan knows these benefits so that they stop putting their safety at risk crossing these roads,” said federal police commissioner Benjamin Grajeda Trump and his fellow Republicans have sought to make the migrant caravan and immigration major issues before the Nov in which Republicans are battling to keep control of Congress Honduras said 4,500 of its citizens attempting to emigrate have returned to the country in recent days Poll results are published every Monday in The Guam Daily Post University of Guam students and faculty are leveraging international academic conferences to foster economic innovation and workforce development positioning the island as a hub for what School of Business and Public Administration Dean Roseann Jones Saturday’s Mad Collab Block Party in Hagåtña brought together more than 70 local businesses and artists in celebration with hundreds of attendees It was all about the wonders of Artificial Intelligence in the palm of your hand All of the latest features in Samsung's Galaxy AI were showcased at a GTA-sponsored event Thursday Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: MEXICO — The caravan of migrants set out early from this railway terminus in the predawn hours Saturday but came to a standstill at a federal police roadblock Rows of police impeded the migrants’ path prompting several hours of negotiations between police commanders immigration officials and caravan representatives the rows of police receded and the migrants passed crossing into Oaxaca state and arriving in the municipality of San Pedro Tapanatepec — some 190 miles from the border with Guatemala The federal police later told Mexican media it set up the roadblock to inform caravan participants of an offer announced the previous day in which migrants in the southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas were eligible for temporary work visas Successful applicants would also receive health benefits and could enroll their children in school President Enrique Peña Nieto’s offer came as the caravan inches closer to the capital of Mexico City and ultimately the U.S though it is still more than 1,000 miles away and moving slowly The Mexican government has sent planeloads of police to southern Mexico and warned the caravan its participants were not welcome to traverse Mexico but authorities have been unable to slow it so far The caravan has crossed closed borders and pushed past police blockades since departing Honduras in mid-July which have formed in the northern triangle of Central America — Honduras Guatemala and El Salvador — home to some of the most impoverished and violent countries in the hemisphere.  a caravan coordinator with the migrants-advocacy group Pueblo Sin Fronteras offered the participants more employment opportunities and was a little safer than other large cities on the Mexico side of the U.S.-Mexico border MORE: Nielsen: Trump considering 'every option' to stop caravan from reaching border Pueblo Sin Fronteras coordinates caravans of Central American migrants through Mexico but denies being behind the current caravan Contreras explained its role as “accompanying” the caravan on a dangerous path through Mexico where the risks for migrants run the gamut from rape and robbery to kidnapping and extortion — by drug cartels and crooked public officials alike an assembly of caravan participants was provided details of the government plan to allow them to stay put They then voted to reject it and continue on their trek toward the border "This plan does not truly respond to the causes of the Central American exodus and therefore does not solve their needs from a perspective that respects human rights in a holistic way," Pueblo Sin Fronteras said in a Friday statement “We don’t want any more prison cities where migrant people are confined without freedom of movement."  More than 1,700 caravan members have applied for asylum in Mexico They are being provided shelter in the southern city of Tapachula as they wait for their claims to be processed Migrants traveling in the caravan said they want to reach the United States rather than stay in Mexico where the daily minimum wage is just $4.50 maybe I would consider Mexico,” said Alfredo Alberto a Honduran sitting in the shade of a closed restaurant along the road on Saturday He was deported from the United States in 2017 after being stopped for driving without a license in Manchester "You can make enough money to eat in Honduras MORE: Mexico says it will offer work permits, health benefits to those who stay President Donald Trump has promised to prevent the caravan’s passage into the United States and called on countries south of the border to stop it Migrants like Alberto didn’t seem dissuaded by the president’s threats "We go with the faith that he will have a change of heart," Alberto said Ordinary Mexicans have responded to the caravan with outpourings of generosity Municipal governments have provided parks and public squares for the migrants to sleep while Catholic parishes along the way have provided meals Mayor Jose Luis Laparra Calderón estimated they would spend more than $8,000 on providing food for the migrants along with sanitation and cleaning up afterward he said because the federal police had "its hands tied" and wouldn't try a heavy-handed approach with so many journalists and human-rights observers present A group of nuns has set up a mobile clinic in each town where the women treat children with coughs and tend to the wounded feet of caravan participants — who reach their destinations each day through a combination of walking and hitchhiking "It’s hot during the day and cool in the morning sore throats and fevers," said Sister Antonia Becerra whose ministry is called "Angels on the Road." The caravan has tried to travel from town to town in the early-morning hours to beat daytime temperatures in the high 80s and scorching sun Saturday’s police roadblock forced the caravan to amble along in the heat Migrants climbed aboard slow-moving semis and delivery vehicles and pleaded with passing motorists to take pity on them “I’ve got blisters on my feet,” said Guatemala native Carlos Escobar His footwear wasn’t ideal: a pair of prison-issued black Nikes which he was given while serving a five-year sentence in Georgia for illegal entry — the product of being deported twice and trying to re-enter the United States where he lived for more than 20 years and has three adult children He plans to stop in Tijuana and “fight my (U.S.) case from there,” he said close enough for children to come visit from Southern California "I’ll get 10 years in prison if they catch me," he said of the U.S